The Trickster: Coterie
by Shadow Chaser
Summary: The myths said they were his monster children; the lore, traitors. To Loki, they were his coterie. -Phase 2 Alternate Universe of the Avengers Initiative-
1. Chapter 1

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Author's Notes:**

This story technically takes place after the events of _Iron Man 3_, but does not include _Thor: The Dark World_. _IM3_ has a few changes, namely it incorporates the events of _Atonement_ in that the Avengers already know about Coulson's resurrection and that by the time of this story, Tony's gotten bored again and has rebuilt a couple of his Iron Man suits. Characters from _Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D._ are briefly mentioned as is Coulson's new assignment.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

"They're certainly deserving of their name," Clint Barton shouted as he downed two more black-clad soldiers with balaclavas that looked like they were rip offs from World War II. But then again, he supposed that whoever was leading HYDRA now was perhaps not quite as up to date as what was fashionable for villains and enemies of SHIELD. "Take off the head of one and two more grow in their place!" he called out again as he shot three more without looking, noting the travel path of Stark high above them as he rained repulsor blasts down along with a quinjet firing its turret gun.

"May we need covering fire to the left. They've broken through-"

The roar and crackle of lightning searing across the left flank rowned out whatever else Phil Coulson was about to say over the comm. to the pilot of the quinjet before Barton spotted bodies flying through the air along the left flank of the enemy lines.

"…never mind then," Coulson finished as he fired his Destroyer-created gun, wiping out several more HYDRA soldiers.

"My question is, how the heck did they get Chitauri tech? I thought SHIELD was supposed to have gotten all of them?" Iron Man asked as he blasted several back with well-aimed repulsor blasts before landing and rolling to the side just as a Mjolnir-assisted car rolled into several more on the ground, flattening and killing the HYDRA soldiers.

"You wanna ask your buddy Rhodes? I thought he's supposed to be helping the U.S. Government keep the lid on the all alien tech that we've decided to share with them?" Barton shouted back before ducking as several blasts impacted the barrier he was hiding behind. "Shit!"

The metallic roar of the Destroyer-created gun stopped the peppering of fire as Barton peered out again and grinned his thanks to Coulson who was stationed farther back, having been the one to set up a containment perimeter and keeping civilians away from the battlefield Washington D.C. had become. Another blast of lightning followed by sounds of things being smacked into wet pulp told them that Thor was trying to keep the west side contained and Barton turned to concentrate his fire upon the east side as did Iron Man.

"The issue of illegal tech is being handled Agent Barton," Coulson's cool and calm voice only made an impish grin appear on Clint's face as he fired more arrows.

"Your team apparently needs to up its publicity if Mr. Stark here is concerned," Barton shot back, loving to rib the team of misfits that Coulson had put together to search, acquire, and stop illegal tech from harming the citizens of the world. Though he had been a little disappointed that Coulson had been reassigned by Fury to that project, he did not deny that Coulson's skill set would be better benefited in so many ways. The Avengers themselves were only gathered together if a situation could not be contained – the rest of the team members on solo assignments in the times not gathered, or were elsewhere occupied like Stark and Banner or Thor in his case, returning to Asgard. In this case, Coulson had personally called them in before leading the op on the nest of HYDRA sitting deep underground D.C.

"Delta Team, have you found the source?" Coulson had ignored his jab as his voice called over the comm. lines to the team that had been sent underground to ex-filtrate the leader of the cell for questioning.

"Negative sir," Captain Rogers' voice replied quietly, almost a little too quietly for Barton to hear over the roar of gunfire and other sounds of battle above ground, but nonetheless, he adjusted his hearing mentally to hear what the team had to say.

"We are close, sir," Agent Grant Ward, another one of Coulson's misfit team members called over along the same tone and range as Rogers, "Agent Romanoff said the bunker was built like one of the Russian Cold War ones."

"The Russian Embassy denies knowing anything about that," Coulson replied and Clint snorted his disbelief, "but it's nice to learn that they were afraid that their own country was going to nuke us and made preparations."

"_They were more liable to eliminate them embassy in case they turned_," Natasha's low voice rumbled over in Russian and Barton grinned as he fired several more arrows.

"What? What did she say? I don't speak Russian-oh, thanks Jarvis-" Stark's tinnied voice came over before he grunted a bit and Clint looked up, firing an arrow, taking out a jetpack wielding HYDRA soldier who had surprised Stark as he dove low and swooped up again.

"A lot of them swarming down here-don't worry, Romanoff, Ward, to your left!" Rogers suddenly shouted before the tinnied sounds of gunfire and screams came over.

"Do you want me to go down there?" Barton fired off several more arrows before looking back at Coulson who shook his head.

"Negative, we don't know the situation down there," he replied, but was keenly aware of the archer's feelings in not being able to cover Natasha Romanoff's back in the midst of a firefight. The only thing they could do was make sure that the exit was covered and that the three agents, one a supersoldier, were able to take care of themselves deep in the bowels of the underground HYDRA lair.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff twisted in the grip of a HYDRA soldier's arm and broke his elbow over her shoulder as she flipped him over at the same time. She fired underneath his tumbling body, sending another one to the ground with a bullet in his throat. Twisting, she lashed out with a foot, breaking the wrist of another one before clothes lining the soldier as he dropped to the ground hard. She knelt down and twisted his neck just so, breaking it quickly before punching another one in the sternum, hard. The soldier made a choking sound as she activated her Widow's Bite and electrocuted him.

Turning slightly, she produced two taser-discs and threw them at the incoming guards who were trying to get their guns to bear. They shook with the volts coursing through them as she ran forward and knocked both out by slamming their heads together. One of them threw up his gun and she grabbed it in mid-air before firing a spray of bullets across several others.

Her senses suddenly alerted her to something behind her and she ducked onto her knees, bending her back so that her head nearly touched the ground as she slid forward. The familiar silvery-red-white-blue shield of Captain America sailed past her head before a spray of fire from Agent Grant Ward huddling in his cover sent the three soldiers hopping into the air just as the shield hit them, killing them.

"Left!" she heard the Captain's command and rolled to her feet as she charged down a path that had been created down another corridor. She heard Ward following behind her followed by the clang of the Captain's shield as he covered their six, his footsteps heavy in the metal-lined halls.

Drawing out both handguns, she fired as she weaved her way in and out of HYDRA soldiers who were barricaded behind barriers. She twisted and weaved through gunfire and bolts of what looked like Phase 2 weaponry, a relic of the Second World War that whoever was leading them had apparently salvaged. She heard the pings of bolts reflecting off of Captain's shield.

"I thought SHIELD got all of Phase 2 after HYDRA was defeated?" Rogers shouted behind her.

"Supposed to have," Ward shouted back as he provided supporting fire.

"They've got Phase 2 stuff down there?!" even Coulson sounded disturbed and Natasha picked on a small clicking sound as she knew Coulson was already asking Fury about the fact that they found Tesseract-based weaponry down there.

"Did someone steal the Tesseract again Point Break?" Stark asked followed by the barest of grunts and then the squeal of the comm. as lightning momentarily zapped across the channel.

"The Allfather would never allow such a thing-"

"What about Loki?" Clint bit out over the comm.

Natasha ducked behind several crates, narrowly avoiding bolts as they gouged holes into her hiding spot. The bolts stopped hammering shortly after as Rogers' shield made a metallic whooshing sound before they impacted the soldiers firing on her position.

"My brother-"

"I think it's safe to say that Loki doesn't want Thanos out of that prison more than any of us do," Rogers' voice cut through the comm., "Romanoff, Ward, two doors down and to the right, I think that's the main room based on the plans we've received."

"Above?" she asked, aware that Clint was a little more than angry after being shut down so easily, but it was not her main concern at the moment.

Rogers nodded, "Hit them below."

She leapt up and swung onto a subplatform above the hallway and hurried towards the destination that Rogers had pointed out as he ran below her, his shield deflecting most of the fire that was concentrated on him and Ward as they made their way along the ground route. Pushing the door open she immediately fired her guns, killing two more soldiers as Rogers and Ward burst into the room with a clang of shield and gunfire below her.

"Romanoff!" he shouted and she immediately fired downwards, her bullets deflecting off of the Captain's raised shield and at that angle, penetrated two heavily armed HYDRA soldiers who had been trying to charge up a minigun of sorts. The two fell to the ground dead as she scanned the cavernous room for their prey. There! She saw what had to be the leader of the HYDRA cell and ran along the catwalks.

"Got him!" she called out, "dressed in...robes, running- he sees me!"

"Don't let him escape!" Rogers called out, but she was already ahead of him as she fired haphazardly into the crowd below who had taken notice of her approach. She could see the robed figure taking one look at her before dashing away, pushing the rest of the soldiers towards her. She hurled past the gaps in the catwalk ducking and dodging bullets fired at her before the shooters were taken out by Captain America's shield and the Captain himself.

Flipping herself over another catwalk, she saw that she was not going to catch up to the fleeing leader and tapped her comm. "Rogers, he's fast, I can't catch up. I'll hold these guys off while you-"

"Negative!" Rogers barked behind her as she met him at ground level, the two of them running hard. "We both know that, that's a suicide stand. Stark, Barton, Thor, he's fleeing towards the south side, at least that's the direction we're going. Intercept him before he has a chance to disappear into the crowds!"

"Skye, see if you can hack the doors so he can't get out-" Coulson ordered around the same time as Rogers spoke.

"I still can't get into the system-"

"Got it," Barton's voice chimed over, hard and professional, "we're-"

"Grenades!" Natasha spotted the small black dots flying towards them, hurled by the robed leader as he turned and gave them a wide smile. A part of her was surprised at how _young_ he looked while the physical part of her was already reacting to the thrown grenades. She hurled herself behind Rogers as he reacted by crouching and placing his shield in front of the two of them at the same time Agent Ward stabbed a fleeing soldier and used his body for cover. The HYDRA soldiers that had been chasing after them also reacted by trying to turn around and running away before the grenades exploded.

However, it was not a wash of fire that engulfed them, but rather an acidic smoke that hissed and seemingly burned the edges of Natasha's eyes as she squeezed them shut against the sound. A gas grenade of sorts. She was about to open her mouth to tell the others over the comm.. that it was only a gas grenade when the screams started and she snapped open her eyes and stared.

A HYDRA soldier stumbled towards her making choking sounds and seemingly clawed at his mask before he managed to remove it and Natasha's eyes widened as she placed a hand over her own mouth and nose in and effort to control her breath. He was bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, any orifice. The gas...it had-

"A type of nerve gas...?" Rogers sounded confused and muffled before she met his eyes as Ward mimed the signal for a nerve grenade and the three of them scrambled to their feet, stumbling towards where they had seen gas masks along one of the edges of the cavernous room.

She could hear the pounding of her own blood in her ears as her lungs tried to breath, but kept a firm control on her instinctive muscles. Nerve gas, or whatever it was that had immediately made the others start to bleed, choke, and scream was not something her body could handle. Through the thick smoke that permeated the area, she finally saw the glint of gas masks and scrabbled to pull two of them towards her, shoving one towards Rogers and one towards Ward who took it, fumbling with the catches and belts as she didn't bother with it and shoved it towards her face-

-And started to take a deep breath of clean, filtered air...the hint of an odd metallic taste that left a bitter feeling on her tongue-

-Natasha's eyes widened of their own accord as she immediately realize that it was all a trap; everything was a trap.

"No! Stop-" she ripped off the mask, already knowing that it was too late for herself, but knowing that she had enough time to at least stop Rogers from making the same mistake as she had and batted his mask away from his hands with the rest of her strength as she felt the poisonous bitter-tasting air coursing through her body. With a seemingly heavy head and eyes, she saw the young Agent Ward also come to the same conclusion as he threw the mask down and tried not to breathe. Her arms felt cumbersome as she saw him shake his head, a denial of what was happening. Ward was a rookie in her eyes, even though his file said otherwise; it was why she had picked him to be their third team member…after all, she had personally trained him in infiltration techniques.

"P-Poisoned," she breathed out, clamping a hand over her own mouth in a futile effort to _not_ breathe in anymore of the gaseous air and coughed.

"Natasha! Don't-" Rogers' voice was muffled in her ears as she felt her own body collapse underneath her, barely caught by him.

She smiled as she looked up at him, noting that her eyes were blurring as she sucked in a small breath to stop the coughing, "Too late-"

"Nat, Nat?!" Clint's voice barked distantly in her ear and she felt oddly touched by the worry she heard. There were not that many people that were concerned about her. She could feel the vicious fire burning in her veins, the leaden feeling of her body shutting down. She was aware of the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears; a rhythmic quality she thought was slowing down as she realized that Clint was still calling her name.

She wanted to respond to that voice, to tell him that everything was all right, that this was okay, but somehow, she could not make her mouth work. She thought she saw the shadow of Clint's face in a pair of brown eyes that appeared in her vision – eyes she should have known, but then everything was shadowed after that…

* * *

As a team leader, and secretly third-in-command of SHIELD after Director Fury and Agent Hill, Agent Phil Coulson always kept his cool as best as he could under stressful circumstances. However, there was always one thing he knew that could send him over the edge – was that the impossible was not possible. There was always a way, always a solution. He rarely lost his temper, though it seemed to happen a lot more lately – but he supposed it was still him readjusting to the fact that he was clinically dead and brought back to life – but listening to Romanoff tell the others that it was a nerve gas of sorts before succumbing to it herself nearly made him lose it.

He gritted his teeth and breathed out quietly through them, "Delta Team, fallback to the waypoint. Medical evac is on their way. Stark, Thor, Agent May, light those escaping bastards up. We need to capture their leader."

"Roger that," May echoed as did Thor and Stark in their own way, Stark with a whoop.

"Skye, any luck?" he called out.

"Sorry, nothing-"

"Keep at it," he knew it was somewhat of a futile effort, especially with Skye, and Fitz-Simmons working on hacking in, but if the three of them could not get in at this juncture, then they probably could not hack in for the next few minutes.

"Come on Ward, stay with me," he heard Rogers' muffled voice come over and wondered what the super soldier was doing, speaking when he was _not_ supposed to be breathing in the air down there. He belatedly realized that perhaps the poisonous gas had not affected the super soldier as much as it had affected Romanoff and now Ward.

"Sir, I can-"

"Negative Barton," he shook his head at Clint's plea who had turned back to look at him while downing several HYDRA soldiers. They were thinning out and he finally stood up from his cover, hefting the Destroyer-weapon as the last of the soldiers died or surrendered to the incoming military and police force.

"Come on," he gestured for Barton to follow him as the archer gave him a dark look, but Coulson was having none of it. He knew Barton wanted to meet with the medical evac that was taking Romanoff, Ward, and Rogers back to the Helicarrier, but at the same time, Barton needed a reminder that he was first an Agent, no matter the circumstances and the mission needed to be completed.

They had only taken a few steps before Stark's curse crackled across the comm. followed by May's surprised exclamation.

"Report!" Coulson ordered, immediately stopping and staring at the distance where he had sent the three. He could see the black form of the quinjet hovering in the distance.

"The guy just…upped and disappeared! Like…"

"It was like seeing my brother cloak himself in shadow," Thor finished for Stark, his tone a little disturbed.

"Sir, he may be an unregistered gifted we do not know about-" Melinda May started before being cut off by Stark.

"Oh hey…he left a small sphere of sorts," Stark suddenly commented, "Jarvis, can you isolate it-yeah, okay, thanks. I'm bringing this back with us to the Helicarrier. Fury can have a field day with it."

"Oh yay, more toys to play with!" Simmons' excited voice came over the comm. and Coulson shook his head a little.

"Simmons," he warned.

"Got it, got it," she apologized, "and I think we're almost…yes! We got it! Skye, can you-"

"Wow…check out these encryption files! It's like…totally a different language almost-wait, nope, just ones and zeroes…" Skye murmured over the comm.

Coulson tuned out the rest of what Skye was saying, filing it away as something to ask her about later, besides renewing the fact that she still did not follow protocol. Having her work with Fitz-Simmons was also probably to blame, but then again, if anyone had adopted Skye into the fold of his operation, it was the two inseparable eggheads.

"Sir, no other hostiles to report. D.C. SWAT, National Guard, and police force are swarming in," May's crisp voice reported over the comm. drowning out whatever Skye and Simmons were babbling about.

"All right May, pick the others up," he nodded mostly to himself before pointing to Barton, "you and I are taking the medical evac shuttle back."

"Yes sir," he knew that Barton was too much of a professional to make a snarky comment, but nonetheless felt the heat of an 'I told you so' look in the archer's eyes. He ignored it as he and Barton made their way to the medical quinjet, noting that Rogers and Ward were already sitting in the jumpseats. The good Captain had an oxygen mask over his own mouth and looked relatively okay, but Ward seemed the opposite, seemingly lethargic as medics crowded around him.

Romanoff was already lying prone on a stretcher, and Coulson frowned as he noted how translucent she looked. Her already pale features were only accented by the stark blue of her veins as a few other medical personnel swarmed her body. As he went up the ramp, he immediately stepped to the side as Barton barreled through, his gaze fixed on her before standing at the foot of the stretcher, staring down at her.

"Take off," he called to the pilot who was peering from the cockpit and the man nodded as Coulson grabbed a handhold, the quinjet's ramp shutting before the unsettled feeling of it rising vertically signaled that it was taking off.

"Captain?" he glanced over to his idol who, truth be told, looked like he had seen better days. Dirt, sweat, and bruises caked parts of his face and hair while his uniform was torn up in some places. There was also the telltale sign of bullets that impacted the Kevlar vest he wore with his uniform, but otherwise, Rogers seemed fine.

"She knew, right off the bat. Even faster than I picked it up, but she knew and tried to warn us at the cost of her own life-"

"She's not dead," Barton's voice was tight with anger and something that Coulson did not want to identify. It was certainly not anguish or pity, but rather, something that Coulson had not heard in a very long time coming from Agent Clint Barton.

Rogers closed his mouth, nodding his affirmation, but Coulson could already read in his eyes the acceptance that another soldier, another ally and perhaps friend was about to die under his command. He was not saying the words like someone who wanted a person to be alive, but to tell someone else that she had died or will die a hero. He could only smile weakly at Rogers as the quinjet flew back towards the Helicarrier.

* * *

It was about half-hour later that Coulson found himself sitting in the main briefing room aboard the Helicarrier, his back to the bustling bridge. Agent Ward had fallen unconscious as they had landed, the medics taking him and Romanoff to the medical ward. Rogers had also been ordered there by Fury himself as a precaution and the super soldier had nodded his assent before heading over.

"Dr. Streiten says that they're stabilized as best as he could make them considering the circumstances," Barton announced as he walked in, hefting his bow to his other hand as he took the nearest seat to the door that would have led to the medical ward. "Captain Rogers is still being checked out."

"Good to know," Fury stood at the threshold in between the bridge and the briefing table, "Stark?"

"Yeah," Coulson turned to see Stark pull out a small black spherical object holding it in between the armored joints of his fingers. His Mark Z-II Iron Man armor had a similar paint scheme as his old Mark II, but with little added copper-colored nuggets added in between. "Don't worry folks, Jarvis says he neutralized the activating mechanism so we all don't have to breathe in poisonous air."

"Did he figure out what it is?" Fury asked.

"Err…no. I can run a full spectral analysis back at my R&D labs at Stark Tower in New York-"

"Fitz-Simmons can take a crack at it-"

"No, I need your team on another case. Something's come up while you were dealing with D.C.," Fury shook his head and Coulson felt a twinge of disappointment, but brushed it away just as quickly. He went where the mission was most important and if Fury wanted his team to investigate something else other than what was recovered at the HYDRA base then they would do so.

"No offense Coulson, but your team's kind of SHIELD. Stark Tech is a little better-"

"Says the man who provided a lot of our tech," Fury countered and Stark just smiled.

"Old tech. I get to invent new ones!" the man replied cheekily before sobering a little, "and I'm going to bring Banner into this."

"You think you know where to find him-"

"He's in Calcutta, again," Stark shrugged as if finding Bruce Banner whom had truly fallen off the grid since the incident with Loki and Thanos, was such a hard thing. Coulson made a mental note that Stark was probably the one hiding him before the man shook his head, "no, I will not to be used as his leverage if you want him in the future-"

"I did not say-"

"No you didn't, but you were thinking it. I know. Anyways, he's in Calcutta so if you don't mind I'd like to bring him on to check this little thing out. He can probably isolate the compound within and hopefully provide a cure or at least something to reverse its effects. That way Romanoff and…Ward, right? Yeah, Ward, don't have to be like this for long."

"We have other scientists-"

"Sure. But I'm willing to bet that Fitz-Simmons, whomever they are, are probably your best," Stark directed a slightly toothy smile at Coulson who knew what the billionaire was playing at, "and they're the best because why else would Coulson hand-pick them to be on his team? So since you've basically said that his team has another assignment, you need me more than Fitz-Simmons."

Fury only glared with his one eye at Stark before Thor unexpectedly reached over and plucked the little spherical object out of Stark's hands. "Hey wait-"

"This…this has…what did those who succumbed to its poison look like?" Thor abruptly asked, rolling the thing around his massive fingers.

"We do not know-"

"They fell to the ground, like they were suddenly shot with a bullet point blank range," Rogers' voice, a little stronger than what it had been on the quinjet, spoke up from the doorway. The soldier looked at Fury, "Sir, permission to join the briefing."

"Granted," Fury nodded as Rogers took the empty seat next to Coulson, "Thor, the ones at ground zero of the grenades looked like they had been shot, instantly falling to the ground dead. Those at the peripheral edges looked like they were hit by nerve gas instead. It didn't burn, but it did hiss and sizzle, like listening to a bunch of angry rattlesnakes."

If it was possible Thor looked even more disturbed and Coulson immediately knew that Thor had an inkling of what they were dealing with.

"They bled out and their blood looked black and was thickened, almost acidic. I don't know what Agent Ward and Romanoff saw or felt, but I could feel the blood from the victims burning me. That's what was burning, like the venom of snakebite or something like that."

Thor frowned as he nodded absently before giving the small spherical object back to Stark, "Director, if you do not have need of me, I wish to return to Asgard to seek my own consultation. I believe it would benefit the situation here should my consultation prove fruitful."

"This…consultation…wouldn't happen to be Loki would it?" Fury was having none of the evasiveness that Thor was trying to achieve.

"Yes," the God of Thunder replied steadily before raising his chin a little, "there is magicks within those spheres. The man of iron's-"

"For once can you just call it the Iron Man suit?" Stark groused almost under his breath.

"-familiar, this Jarvis, says it is contained, but it is only a temporary measure. I suggest placing it in an unbreakable tightly sealed container until it could be studied further. I wish to consult with my brother about what is within those spheres. It may be the key to finding out whom HYDRA's newest leader is and perhaps the reason why he seemed to step into the shadows like my brother."

"You think maybe its Loki's fault? Like he sent someone to do his dirty work again on Earth-"

"My brother would not do such a thing-"

"Regardless, permission granted Thor. Just…if it's really one of Loki's schemes-" Fury waved a hand to cut Barton off from saying anything else.

"He would answer to it by my hand and by the Allfather's," Thor nodded once. "Thank you."

"All right, the rest of you stand down, get yourselves checked out by Medical, yes even you Captain. I know you were cleared, but we just want to make sure it's not a delayed reaction to the poison or whatever it is due to your super soldier status."

Coulson stood up as the briefing ended and watched the others file out before Fury turned and picked a thumb drive that had been sitting at his station and handed to him. "Your crew has twenty-four hour leave before I need them back in the field. Agent Ward will be staying with the Helicarrier for now, but this can't wait. I'm assigning a temporary sniper to your group until Ward is better."

"Yes sir," Coulson was too professional to let his disappointment at receiving a new assignment instead of pursuing the follow-up lead to the D.C. one and took the thumb drive.

"Check in with Dr. Streiten before you head out on leave," Fury said and Coulson nodded once before he headed from the bridge to Medical. At least he could check in on Romanoff and Ward before leaving.


	2. Chapter 2

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 2_

Boredom was usually never a good thing. Being the bored Trickster God he supposed was not a good thing, but Loki was never inclined to care about that. It was merely the opinions of others foisted upon others to think that it was "not a good thing." Certainly they would think so if they were being spelled upon, but he was inclined to think otherwise. He thought them as mere…beings to see what their limits of patience were. It was an exercise in patience, for them and for him, in a manner of speaking. And certainly explained why he had spelled a few birds to pretend they were flying in and out of the vast throne room, pretending to build nests within one particular courtier's nest of hair.

There were times he hated being in the throne room, subjected to the whispers of the courtiers, but the whispers of his unnatural magicks and abilities were something he was used to. No, now was the added whispers of what he had done, his battle with Thanos, the seemingly endangerment of the realm and Asgard itself…his _betrayal_ even with a full public pardon from the Allfather, it was still whispered along with his parentage. Those were the whispers that Loki could not help but notice, yet at the same time he tried to dismiss them from his mind.

He could have easily declined participation in the Allfather's audiences, but Loki wanted the others to see him, wanted them to know that he was neither cowed nor ignorant of their whispers. Let them talk all they want, he was still standing at his place next to the Allfather where as Thor's place…was conspicuously absent. Loki would freely admit, if anyone asked, that his public appearances were twofold, one to show the realm and those under Asgard's rule that he, the misbegotten son, was more attuned to the realm's needs than Thor off adventuring with the mortals. But he also knew that the courtiers, would see it differently – they lived for the battles that Thor fought in, returned with the stories of conquests and foes that have been defeated.

He highly doubted that many of them realized that the mortals he fought with were also relevant to the lore spoken at feasts, but then again, the courtiers also held a low opinion of the mortals that Thor loved and fought with. Even now, with the retelling of the frenetic battle against Thanos the mortals' efforts were barely spoken…except maybe of the green monster known as the Hulk. He was perhaps given the most credit; after all, how could no one miss the giant green monster that practically flattened everything in his path, friend or foe.

He had even heard Faendral speak of the Hulk akin to a fearsome Fire Demon of Muspelheim, except not sending wreaths of flames everywhere, but just as much as melting or mashing things in his path into wet, pulpy pieces. Loki harbored no illusions of even remotely going near the green monster that the seemingly mild-mannered Bruce Banner could turn into, but he was secretly glad that the mortal was confined to Midgard. The realm was perhaps useful enough to confine most of Thor's activities of late, but then again, all of the other realms were still recovering from Thanos' efforts to destabilize everything, even after so many months.

The softly cackling caw from Muugin perched on the Allfather's shoulder made him shoot a glance towards the raven to see it ruffle a feather or two before seemingly look at him with a twinkle in its deep black eyes. He frowned a little as he turned back and saw that one of his birds had turned green…nearly the same green color as the Hulk itself and immediately corrected the spell. Shooting another quick look at the raven, he could have sworn it shrugged before preening itself. Muugin's brother familiar, Huugin was perched on top of Gungir and Loki noted with some amusement that Huugin was most definitely asleep, beak hidden inside a wing, eyes sleepily closed.

Another soft squawk from Muugin made his brother raven open one eye to look about before nestling back into its wing. So even the ravens were bored, he thought as he shifted his feet discreetly to relieve the pain of standing in one position for a long time. The courtiers themselves were all seemingly listening in rapt attention to the audience happening at the moment, but he could tell that some of them were getting tired by this long audience. However, none dared to voice their complaint. This audience was a matter of import – the ambassador for the Frost Giants, representing King Helblindi himself was finalizing a treaty that would finally end the uneasy truce between Asgard and Jotunheim and mark the first step in a real peace between the realms.

That was the other reason why Loki had to be at this particular audience – Odin Allfather had specifically requested his presence to oversee the so-called "fruits" of his labor and the restoration of the Casket of Ancient Winters to Jotunheim itself. He had not been to the icy realm since his audience with the young King, his younger brother if one was inclined to look at familial aspects, but the Allfather wanted him to see the results.

He sighed quietly and thought about adding another bird to the spell he was weaving, maybe this one in the colors of red and black to add to the green-colored Hulk one and the blue-white Captain America one, to portray Natasha Romanoff. However, Huugin sudden loud caw as he awoke broke through his thoughts. The raven spread its wings and flew off with a distinctive almost-gleeful cackle. Some of the courtiers' reacted by watching it fly out, but many pretended not to notice the raven, and instead kept their attention on the proceedings just as Odin had.

The courtiers themselves were used to the comings and goings of the ravens, enough that they also knew it perhaps spotted food elsewhere or was on another information gathering mission for the Allfather. Loki knew that the courtiers suspected Huugin had gone to consult with the all-seeing eye of Heimdall, perhaps thinking that was where the Allfather received many of his secrets, but all were too polite to ask about it.

Seeing that Huugin was gone, Loki looked to add to his spell once more when the subtlest of shifts from the Allfather sitting upon his throne made him quickly erase the spell instead; the quiet chirping of birds disappearing and leaving a near-silence in its wake. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Odin incline his head once before rising up from his seat. There was the briefest of shifting of feet everywhere as all knew that the treaty was almost complete which only made Loki snort silently at the sudden wash of silent relief that emanated from the courtiers.

"Lord Ambassador Ymir," the Allfather addressed in wake of the silence of Ymir's _very_ long monologue, "the openness of dialogue and words garnered in these past weeks have allowed a new chapter of peace and prosperity to open between Asgard and Jotunheim once more. We thank you for your words and also the words of your King. The feasting halls will tell of tales for generations to come where war once was, but is no more."

"So it shall be, Odin Allfather. There is one more gift we wish to present," Ymir bowed low and Odin tilted his head, but nodded.

"You may present it," he said and Loki wondered what it was.

He had no doubt that it was not a weapon of sorts, Ymir had plenty of time to betray the trust and foundations that had been built over the past several weeks since talks had begun, but at the same time, the presentation of gifts had already been done in the midst of the talks. Here, at the very end of the talks and treaty between the two worlds, it was highly unusual. Still he made no move to summon his magicks or even prepare for an attack, noting that the Allfather was utterly relaxed in his composure. But then again, he was holding Gungir…

The ambassador drew out a geometric looking object, but did not hold it up to the Allfather in his large hands; instead, Loki noted with some surprise that Ymir was holding the object up to _him._ "In this, contains the proof of life that has flourished with the return of the Casket to our realm." There was a gleam that Loki could not quite identify in the ambassador's eyes, almost like mirth, "The King wished me to present this to the one who had graciously returned the Casket to our rightful place."

Loki blinked as the throne room burst into quiet murmurs and whispers. He could feel the eyes of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif upon him and knew exactly what those gazes said. That they were a bit surprised at the white-washing of the truth, of what had really happened on the Bifrost during the battle with Thanos. He had not given the Casket as readily as it had been picked off of his briefly-dead hands.

But Loki was not a trickster nor liesmith for nothing as he put on a grateful smile and reached out to accept the gift, encapsulating it with a spell to lift it to his own hands. His smile turned into a slight smirk at the grumbles of his blatant display of magicks. Examining it quickly, he brushed a spell over it and was mildly amused to find that that whatever was inside, was protected by the geometric container, or rather, a modular spell like the ones he built during times of idleness. This was going to be fun, trying to take apart what was clearly Helblindi's own magicks.

"I thank the King for his generous gift," he acknowledged Ymir with the briefest of nods as he stored it in the space in between to unravel it later. He noted with a slight disdain mingled with mirthless amusement that many of the courtiers looked shocked at his gratitude towards a gift, even from a Frost Giant. However from his vantage point, Sif was frowning, not at him, but at the courtiers and their reaction. Let her think that he was actually grateful, the courtiers thought otherwise and it only served to further manipulate the feelings of the Court itself.

"And so concludes this treaty between the realms," Odin declared, thumping Gungir on the ground. A second later, the polite applause sounded in the Court as the Ambassador bowed his head before making his way back into the edges of where other foreign dignitaries had come to witness the event.

Loki was sure there were other trade agreements between the newly restored Jotunheim and the rest of the Nine Realms to be discussed, but as the Allfather looked out towards the Court to dismiss them, the sharp caw of Huugin made everyone turn to see the raven flying low, swoop through the Court before landing next to his brother familiar Muugin. There was a sharp poke from Muugin's beak into Huugin's feathers before the other raven responded with another soft caw.

It was then that the crowd parted and Loki felt a flash of irritation crawl through him at the sight of Thor, standing at the edge of the throne room. His cape was torn in several places; armor scuffled and dried blood caked parts of his face, matting his blond-hair to the side. It was clear Thor had only come from a battle and Loki knew that the very image Thor presented was one that the Court would respond favorably to. Here was the favored son, home from what was certainly a fierce battle, perhaps scarred, with new tales to tell at tonight's feast for the realized treaty…

And everything Loki had done to make sure his presence was acknowledged since Thor had not been at any of the negotiations or audiences, was all for naught. All because Thor had to show up just now-

"I intend no disrespect Allfather, but I return with urgent news," Thor said as he walked towards the dais and stopped before kneeling on one knee to the Allfather, head bowed. Loki pursed his lips as he heard the whispers start up once more as the courtiers got a closer look at Thor.

Even though there were several steps between him and Thor, he could smell the hint of ozone wafting around his brother, and upon closer inspection, noted that there was far more blood caked across his armor, hair, and skin. Mjolnir which hung by his side had not escaped unscathed, coated in dried brown-red blood.

"Speak then, Thor," Odin intoned quietly, and Loki risked a quick look at the Allfather to see that a mask of impassivity had fallen across his face. It was the same mask that no matter what happened, he could not read.

"It is news that would diminish the occasion of joy of your most recent peace treaty, Allfather," Thor said haltingly and Loki saw Odin's eyes narrow a little as a wash of renewed whispers spread throughout the Court. Even Ambassador Ymir looked a little suspicious by his declaration. More often than not, when a warrior walked into and interrupted an audience that was going on in the throne room, the news that was declared was usually for a battle or for some skirmish that the Courts always responded to favorably. Reports from spies came from Huugin, Muugin, or were given to the Allfather himself through Heimdall or even through a spectral familiar from one of the battlemages. What Thor was doing…

Loki had to snort quietly at how _underhanded_ his brother was being. But at the same time, he knew that Thor would have never boldly walked in if it was just a spy report. No, Thor was Crown Prince, the beloved son, the future _king_ of Asgard so to boldly walk in and suddenly say that he needed a private audience. He did not know quite what to think, but then again, did not have to say anything as Odin stood up and inclined his head once towards the Jotun ambassador.

"As I had said, this concludes the treaty between our realms, Ambassador. We shall have a feast later tonight in your honor and those of the Jotuns. I ask your forgiveness for this early retirement," the Allfather said and Loki could see that the metaphoric gears in Ymir's head were turning at the play of words spoken by Odin. By asking the Ambassador for forgiveness, Odin had cleverly wedged Ymir into a tight spot – he could not say he did not forgive the Allfather for the early ending of the audience without insulting his host for the resulting feast later tonight. At the same time, it was also a clear dismissal for the rest of the Court.

Ymir smiled placidly before inclining his head in the same fashion, "Of course, Allfather. I must contact our King with news of this success. As you are such a gracious host, perhaps I may make the suggestion of inviting the King himself? It would be more for his honor as I am just his humble servant."

Loki immediately saw through the web of words between Odin and Ymir and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His oafish, stupid brother did not realize what he had just unleashed by barging in with his so-called _urgent _news and with his attempts to bandy words to get a private audience had all but announced that there was something _secret_ going on. Ymir had cleverly countered by asking for Helblindi himself to arrive only because if it had been just Ymir, the Allfather may have detained him for a few days afterwards on the pretense of going over the finalized trivial details of the treaty. But by having Helblindi there, the Allfather could not detain him if he wanted to. He could still detain Ymir, but with a second pair of ears at the table, which Loki knew someone was bound to ask about Thor's very recent battle, whatever "secret" Thor wanted to talk to Odin in private would have to be carefully edited. And knowing Thor, he could not even tell a lie even if he wanted to.

His brother made his life even harder and more annoying with his sudden appearance. And Loki knew he would have his work cut out for him to deflect and or preserve whatever secrets were to be spoken between Odin and Thor. He knew that he did not have to do it, but at the same time, a sense of self-preservation and chance to prove that his brother was most definitely not ready for the throne was too tempting for him – especially showing him up in front of the Allfather himself.

"Then we shall expect the young King at his rightful place of honor," Odin said and Ymir bowed once before getting up and leaving. The rest of the courtiers knew that the audience was at an end as they too, slowly left. Many of the courtiers would not hear of the tale that Thor was bound to be asked about during the feast tonight, but there would be rumors nonetheless.

As the last courtier turned to leave, Loki allowed himself to relax and shook his head at his brother who stared at him in surprise. "You are a fool," he growled out as he made his way down the throne room steps, Sif and the other Warriors already heading to the door that would lead them to the training grounds. He himself was headed to the library; hoping to maybe read off a headache that was forming and think of ways he could at least deflect the inevitable questioning that was to happen at tonight's feast.

"Loki, I…" Thor suddenly looked torn and Loki huffed an annoyed sigh as he glanced at his brother, "I would like you to stay."

His annoyance was replaced by shock as he blinked, taken aback at the request. A the momentary burst of fear that ran through him. A private audience with the Allfather was that, a private audience. Neither one of them had _ever_ asked the other to stay since they were young boys being punished. Loki knew as well as Thor knew that there were times where matters of the realm and beyond were spoken to one another now that Thor was Crown Prince and he just…a Prince.

Even with Thanos imprisoned, the Allfather had yet to declare what his role was within the royal household, nor what was he to do in the immediate future. He was certainly not the Allfather's advisor nor was he the chief negotiator or a diplomat. He was not a battlemage or even a healer and instead had been left to his own devices. Loki had known what he was before the whole fiasco with Jotunheim, he was Thor's shadow, the once possibility of being King there, but now…

The sound of the doors closing told him that the Warriors had left, leaving him the only one who had been originally part of the Court now standing there, still staring at Thor. He could ignore it, leave as he knew it was his right to do, but at the same time he also knew that the knowledge gained would perhaps help him tonight. He turned and stood plainly facing Thor, diagonally from the Allfather still sitting upon his throne and saw the slight warmth of affection appear in Thor's eyes.

Only Thor would still think of his gesture to stay as something brotherly. They were not- he cut the thought off irritably. The oaf would still not get it, even if he was able to pick up Mjolnir and hammer it into his face.

"Speak plainly Thor," the Allfather's tone was neutral, but Loki caught the hint of a severe disappointment in them. Even the Allfather knew what a mess tonight's feast was going to be because of Thor's actions and for that Loki felt a little grateful that at least he was not the only one who was irritated at the blond-haired idiot.

"The Avengers discovered that HYDRA's newest leader is but a mere child," Thor started, "whom Iron Man, Agent May, and I saw disappear with seemingly a twist of magic, much like how you walk the shadows, my brother."

Loki shrugged, "The mortals are persistent enough to try to break the laws of their technology against magicks they do not yet understand. I am not surprised if one or two have designed spells to enable such a thing."

Thor nodded, seemingly appeased before looking back up at the Allfather, "Before leaving, their leader dropped small marbles of a gaseous nature. It was poison that has affected many of the mortal agents of SHIELD including the warrior Natasha Romanoff and Captain Steven Rogers."

That was not surprising to Loki, and he wondered if Thor had said their names to deliberately make him feel some sort of responsibility or guilt towards the Avengers, especially the two that seemed most neutral, aside from Dr. Banner, towards him the last time he was there. If that was the intention, then Loki felt nothing. Romanoff and Rogers were soldiers and warriors first and foremost and they knew when to give up their lives for whatever cause they believed in.

"The poison itself was corrosive in nature, destroying the insides of a mortal's body if inhaled directly. However, it has not affected the physical area and…it was bound by magicks that I have felt before."

That statement got Loki's attention as he whipped his head around to stare at Thor. Even the Allfather looked interested as he leaned forward a little on his throne. Thor was someone who was rarely affected by magicks of any nature, trusting Mjolnir to protect him as well as his natural warrior-enhanced senses to avoid any magicks of any type. Loki remembered training with Thor and occasionally scoring him with his own magicks if only to help him learn to avoid all sorts of spells and whatnot thrown upon a battlefield should the need arise. But there had been one time when Thor was affected by magicks…and it made Loki uneasy.

The uneasiness turned quickly into dread as he contemplated Thor's words. Corrosive poison specifically designed to be inhaled and only then would it release the toxin within a person, making them hemorrhage blood, putrefy and dissolve their innards. It was controlled by magicks and a mere _child_, the leader of HYDRA was seen fleeing the scene.

"Allfather, I believe that Jormungandr has escaped his prison and is HYDRA's newest leader," Thor said quietly avoiding Loki's sharp look.

* * *

Thor kept his gaze firm on the Allfather as he heard his brother start and draw in a sharp breath. Contrary to what he knew his brother thought of him, he could tell that the news affected him more than he was willing to show. But it was also news that he knew the Allfather had to know and hoped that by having Loki at the audience, he would at least have some of his feelings spared. He had not wanted to pin the blame on Jormungandr, but there was no denying the magicks he felt in the brief moment he held the small unopened poison gas marble before the man of iron had taken it back.

"Loki, I-"

"Spare me your feelings, Thor," Loki hissed out quietly as out of the corner of his eye he saw his brother try to regain his composure. Thor knew the history between Jormungandr and his brother, but also knew that whatever knowledge he had of the history between the two, there was a far deeper history that Loki had carefully never revealed, not even to the Allfather.

The real question was who freed Jormungandr. Thor did not want to believe that Loki had a hand in it, but then again, Jormungandr had been part of his brother's coterie, and a very powerful coterie at that. The intricacies of magicks had long eluded Thor, but it also meant that he did not pretend that it did not exist. He just had a habit of separating it, even though a part of him knew that his father used magic too. Loki was just…Loki. And he had to admit, it was during that time of Loki's coterie that Thor had felt the pangs of jealousy of a group of people that was able to love his brother seemingly even more than he loved him himself.

It still did not mean that he had forgiven the coterie for their traitorous actions, no, that was certainly the prevailing sentiment amongst all Asgardians and through the Nine Realms themselves. But he also knew that his brother harbored some lingering regrets and feelings for the group of beings that were almost like him.

Still, his brother needed to hear this, "Loki, I would not have spoken his name if I was not sure."

"I don't _care_," Loki seethed, glaring at him, but Thor would not back down. His brother _needed_ to know that he had his support, no matter what. He would never abandon him, even after everything.

"Loki-"

Huugin's caw startled the two of them as they looked up to see the Allfather speaking to his raven before it flew off, headed towards Heimdall's Observatory. "Heimdall shall confirm the escape of Jormungandr," Odin said, but before Thor could say anything, Loki suddenly turned and in a very uncharacteristic move, dropped to one knee.

"Allfather, permit me to go to Midgard to ascertain the truth to this matter. If indeed Jormungandr has escaped, I may be able to draw him out," his brother said in the most neutral and quiet voice ever. Thor was surprised at the sudden humility and humbleness that was displayed – Loki _never _asked permission, he just did what he wanted, consequences be dammed.

And he realized that his brother must have been severely affected by the possible news that Jormungandr could be loose somewhere on Midgard. Thor wanted to reach out and tell Loki that everything was going to be fine, but he also knew that his brother was in such a frenzied state that he would accept nothing.

"What would you request in turn for this?" Odin tilted his head a little, his one-eyed gaze sharp.

"That the others come to no harm," Loki quickly replied and Thor drew in a quick breath at the implications of that statement.

He did not want to believe…but if it was true… No…it could not be. Loki would never do such a thing.

"Oh how little you know of me, brother," he heard Loki whisper softly, his tone amusing yet at the same time saddened. Thor realized that he had spoken his last thought out loud.

"The others will come to no harm so long as their prison holds," Odin countered, "I will however, send the Warriors Three and Lady Sif to ascertain the nature of their confinement That is how much time you will have."

"I understand," Loki looked up and Thor saw a grim determination in his eyes, not unlike when he was facing down Thanos so long ago, but at the same time, he could not help but wonder what it was for. The coterie and their bonds to one another were powerful, but Thor knew that no one held sway over his brother.

"I shall send for them after the feast," Odin continued and Thor grimaced at the same time he saw the same expression flit across his brother's face. So they would not leave immediately and instead stay for the feast.

He was never good with wordplay, especially within the Court and knew that he had bungled his attempt for a private audience by trying to make it seem like his news should not have diminished the conclusion of the Jotun-Asgard negotiations. He had been aware of Loki's involvement in them, his daily appearances in Court and in the negotiation rooms, helping draft the treatise with his brilliant ability as a wordsmith.

And he had seen the withering look Loki had sent him for his attempt to try to mitigate his own problems since his arrival from Midgard. In hindsight, perhaps he should have just waited until the Allfather had finished with his Court, but at the same time, the urgency of the possibility of Jormungandr's escape was very important.

"I…I will try to be more discreet in the future," Thor knew there was nothing else he could have said and at best it was a very poor apology for what was going to happen tonight. He knew there was the potential of mitigating the story so that the Jotuns would not pry into matters, but it would be futile. Helblindi was Loki's true brother and Thor had seen the exact same calculating eyes on the King of Jotunheim as he had on his own brother. If he did not tell the full story, Helblindi would be sure to pick it out from him…

"Then I suggest the two of you prepare for the feast," Odin dismissed them and Thor bowed his head once before standing up and heading out of the throne room.

He heard Loki's footsteps behind him and as the door closed behind them he turned and opened his mouth, but Loki beat him to the punch.

"Spare me your sentiments, Thor," his brother glared at him, "I do not wish for it."

Thor closed his mouth and watched as Loki turned abruptly on his heel and quickly headed towards the hall that led to the library. He watched his brother until he disappeared around a corner and shook his head sadly. At least Loki had only said that much – he knew Loki could have said a lot more, but was probably distracted by the news of Jormungandr's possible escape. Sighing, Thor headed towards his own quarters, intent on a long bath to wash the stink of mortal blood and sweat off of his body and armor.

* * *

Loki closed the tome he was reading with a quiet thump that echoed off the shelves in the library. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ran his fingers up and down in an effort to relieve the tension that was there. This was not a problem he needed now…not with the feasting tonight. The Allfather and Thor had all but guaranteed that he was not going to be on his top form tonight verbally sparring with Helblindi and he hated it.

But still, Jormungandr, escaped; or at least possibly escaped from his prison and bonds.

It would take Heimdall a few days to scour the whole of Midgard itself, down to the deepest core and every inch of its surface before he could ascertain if Jormungandr had truly escaped. The form he had been forced into was also a clever one, able to blend in with his surroundings. The only thing that would have given Jormungandr away in his imprisoned form were two twin specks that lit up like little stars. Stars that said mine, mine, mine…

He wondered if _she_ had cut his bonds. It would not be the first time she had done something similar to test him even though he was her best student. He would not have called her cruel, but she was not known for her kindness either. She was however, a very effective teacher and more than any of the other battlemages in existence. He knew he could easily consult her, his connection to her renewed since his brush with death thanks to Thanos' dagger. Before then, he had severed all ties since his coterie was scattered.

But to contact her now, it would only invite a chance for her daughter to free herself from her own imprisonment and Loki...did not want anything to do with _her_. He knew the Allfather had his suspicions, but even he with his magicks knew that the better part of valor was discretion. In this case, the magicks that he studied versus the ones the Allfather studied were best left alone.

He flicked an idle finger and conjured a tiny ghost-like bligesnipe as it wandered the tabletop of where he sat, snuffling as it pretended to search for another bligesnipe to battle against. Adding some detail to its form, he conjured a second one before sending the two off to do battle with each other, trying to distract himself. The battle was soon over as his first bligesnipe conquered his second one and Loki growled under his breath as he released the spell.

It was no use…everything he did made his thoughts go back to what Thor had declared. Jormungandr, the coterie…the others…

"I have just opened up a path for my Queen," Frigga's voice startled him out of his thoughts as she suddenly placed a chess board in front of him, a white pawn clearly moving two spaces up opposite of his black side, "your turn."

He moved his Queen's knight before realizing that it was not the one he wanted to move, but it was too late to take the move back as his fingers had already lifted off the piece itself. Looking up, he saw his mother rounding the edge of the table to sit across from him, staring down at the board and made her second move.

"Your father told me what happened," she started conversationally before shaking her head at his frown, "you need not tell me, I know you well, my son. I merely wish to challenge you at the moment. The feast is not yet prepared and you have only recently finished another tessellation in your room."

"I could start another one," he countered, wondering what she was getting at. As much as he appreciated that she was playing chess with him, he still did not feel too comfortable around her. Guilt at what he had done was primarily his concern and he remembered waking up in the healing hall after his battle with Thanos once to see her tear streaked face and her whispered promise to never die as she could not stand to bury a son.

"You may," she replied serenely, "yet I find you here in the library."

"I am reading to figure out how to solve the problem Thor created," he made his second move, knowing he could still win even with his first bad move.

"Loki, your words do not need to be read in a book. You are far too clever for that," she smiled a little, "come now, play the game for what it is."

"I am not a child-"

"You are still my child," she blinked once before he huffed a sigh and focused on her third move. "But as a parent I still have a lot to learn. I wish to learn how to defeat my husband in chess at least once."

Loki looked up in surprise as she made her third move. He had not known that the Allfather played the game, having seen him sitting upon the throne, inspecting the warriors, doing everything that was not considered leisure. But he realized that the Allfather was seemingly a chessmaster himself, always creating options, leaving positions open, sacrificing pieces of the sort. Everything he did was for a purpose, much like the game he was playing at the moment.

"He will not be an easy opponent," he murmured quietly as he made his move to which she countered and he made another quick move, taking one of her pieces.

"And neither you," she arched an eyebrow at the loss of her piece and his lips twisted a little in a small smile.

"There are different methods of play, mother," he watched as she stared at the board for a moment before cautiously making another move to which he countered. She frowned again before making another one and he took another one of her pieces.

"Strike fast?" she took one of his pieces, but he did not care for the pawn. It was inconsequential.

"Or strike slowly. Or perhaps use both, a combination of various methods," he made his move, setting up his Queen, "check."

She frowned and Loki looked up to see her staring at the board, her brow furrowed in thought before she cautiously made her move. He smiled a little, "That was the right one."

"Or perhaps the one you wish me to think was the right one," she met his gaze with a slightly amused smile of her own and Loki nearly laughed. He reached over and pointed to one of her pieces, "If you had moved this one, then in three moves, it would have been checkmate. If this one, then two moves…" He continued to explain the methods to her as she nodded.

At least two hours later, she finally sat back, their fifth match all but done and she smiled at him. "Thank you, my son, for this very educational experience."

"Your distraction was a mild success," Loki tilted his head as she nodded and collected the pieces and board. It was true, he barely thought of what was happening until she had spoken.

"Loki, we will find Jormungandr," she stood up and looked to leave, but leaned down and reached out to grasp his hand, "we will find him."

"I have no doubt of that," he replied as she left the library. The question was, if Jormungandr had escaped and he was found, what would he do then?

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Just what a coterie is will be explained in the story. It is an actual word that exists…and for those who have read Robin Hobb's books, I've based Loki's coterie upon the coterie of those books.


	3. Chapter 3

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 3_

Night, for all intents and purposes, had fallen, but night on Asgard was not like night on Jotunheim or even Midgard for that matter. Loki looked out of the entrance of the Observatory as he waited for Heimdall to relay his instructions to Huugin who was to fly back to make his next report to the Allfather. He made it a point not to stare anywhere near the bridge itself or anything remotely towards the drop that ended in nothingness. Even with the Observatory and Bifrost repaired, Loki still felt the thrill of fear grow within him this close to the blackness-

He mentally shook himself from the thought as his gaze traveled to the golden spires of the palace. The nightfall on Asgard glittered upon the reflection of the spires, brightening the starry sky with even more stars. Nebulae and galaxies of beyond brightened in the night skies of Asgard as did the oort cloud that encircled the artificial asteroid that the Asgardians of old had made into their home and center of the realms. It was truly a beautiful sight, something he had kept to himself during the period of blackness within Thanos-

He bit his lip as he pulled his thoughts away from Thanos and what had happened. Everything now reminded him of what he had nearly lost; what he had pulled tight to himself to keep Thanos from utterly dominating his mind. It was a problem that still needed to be rectified, but it was something that he would deal with later. The trip to Midgard once more was his first and foremost concern.

But that was not to say that the feast had been interesting to say the least. It had been the first time Helblindi had come to Asgard after the battle against Thanos had been decided; tensions still heavy between the Jotuns and Asgardians – even in wake of the new peace treaty. For one thing, Loki knew that it was the perception of the Jotuns causing a lot of the tension – dressed in the simple cloths of the people that they deemed nobility, it was seemingly beneath the class and finery the Court wore. It was also the fact that the Jotuns towered over every single Asgardian with their dominating alien blue skin and blood-red eyes.

_Monsters_, many of the Court had whispered and Loki had ignored them. It was an epitath that he had heard many times and also had applied to himself, no matter how much it hurt him. Words like that did not hurt him, words the Court and popular opinion bandied around. He did not need approval from anyone and certainly not of the Court. But at the same time, he also understood the importance of such words, especially in wake of the peace treaty. While he himself was able to manipulate words so easily, others were too dimwitted to realize what was at stake.

Surprisingly it was the young King himself who had quelled the nearly-disastrous words whispered amongst the Court with words of his own. They were far kinder and more diplomatic than what he would have said if he had been in Helblindi's position, but Loki was a little disturbed at how _close_ the words were to his own. It really proved that Helblindi was his blood relation and he had been uncomforted by that fact. Even Thor had looked surprised at the words, but then again, his brother always wore his expressions on the sleeve of his armor.

The feast itself had then been a minefield of carefully dodged questions and deflections that Loki had come away with mostly satisfied with Ymir's persistence. Clearly, Ymir was at least Helblindi's protégé in terms of bandying of words, but the young King also knew his place during the feast and left the questioning of today's events at Court to his advisor and ambassador. There had been a slight misstep on Thor's part that Loki had frustratingly covered for his brother. He thought of abandoning Thor to Ymir and Helblindi's metaphoric wolves, but it would have undone what he had been carefully doing all night. It also would have told them secrets he did not want them finding out; especially with the possibility of Jormungandr loose upon Midgard.

The delighted cackle from Huugin broke into his thoughts as he turned to see the raven now perched on Thor's shoulder. The source of the cackle was a shelled nut provided by Thor to the raven who then proceeded to crack it open on one of Thor's shoulder plates before devouring the soft insides. It gave another caw of delight before seemingly puffing up in annoyance at Thor's whispered words as he handed over another shelled nut. Huugin hopped a bit on Thor's shoulder before flying away, passing by Loki who watched him until he could not see the black speck against the golden spires of the palace.

"Huugin seems to favor me, but I told him to at least share with his fellow familiar brother the fruits of his labor," Thor said by way of explanation as Loki turned back around to see Heimdall moving to insert his keyblade into the activation port of the Bifrost.

He threw his brother a withering look. Who asked him to explain his actions? However, he noted to some degree of annoyance that Thor ignored his look and instead waited patiently at the site where the power of the Bifrost would transport them to Midgard.

"I have searched the seas, my Prince, but I did not see the Midgard serpent even with his mass. I will search the lands for his camouflage, but if someone has freed him, he has either shrunken in size or has taken on human form that I am not familiar with," Hemidall said, making his address more to Thor than to Loki. Loki bit back a smirk even though his lips twitched in amusement. Since his return, he had made it a point not to even go near the Observatory and Heimdall made it a point not to do anything with him, even after all of the recent events with walking the shadows and Heimdall being blind to Thanos' cloaking spells.

"Thank you Heimdall. We will hope to have answers soon," Thor said after half a second of awkward pause occurred since Loki was not going to acknowledge what he had said.

"Where would you like me to transport you to?" Heimdall asked, his golden eyes boring into Thor.

"The man of iron's tower in New York City if you please. I believe that was where he said he would be able to use his technology to create a cure," Thor said and Loki blinked a little. He was surprised that such a place would be chosen, but supposed it was as good of a time as any to truly test out the geas-contract he had made with Director Fury if he so stepped out into the public. He would even be inclined to wear his helm-

"Loki, I ask that you do not test out the geas-contract you had made with the Director while we are there," Thor turned to him and Loki stared at him in surprise before his brother nodded, his smile a little earnest, "I too have been learning and changing my ways. I cherish the things I care about more and thus have learned to not take many of them for granted."

For a second Loki was taken aback at the sheer sentimentality and the love behind those words before he shook his head, "It is a bigger weakness to exploit by your enemies."

"Yes, but it is one I will gladly bear the burden of," Thor tilted his head and for a moment Loki did not see Odin that he had seen so much in Thor, but rather Queen Frigga and huffed a sigh before turning away.

"Again, I remind you my Princes, that the Bifrost will not open for you so long as you are in open combat," Heimdall intoned as the Bifrost began to build its charge up. "The enemies of the realm will not gain a foothold here," he continued, the whine buzzing the edges of Loki's teeth as he felt it's hair-raising magical energies flit across the surface of his exposed skin. It was a heady feeling, though he supposed that Thor, having no ounce of magicks within him, could not quite feel it as much as he felt it. At the same time, it also triggered the danger sense within him, that he needed to run far away from the power of the Bifrost, from the power of the Tesseract.

Just when he could not take it anymore, he felt himself being horribly compressed, struggling to breathe-

Only to find the wind now whipping his hair into his face as he and Thor landed on the open patio of the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Being transported by the Bifrost was unlike walking the shadows of Yggdrasil, but there were times when both were eerily similar. This was like one of them, except without the _voices_ to whisper to him his innermost thoughts, it was the horrible physical feeling of magicks that had pulled and clawed at him.

"Hey Point Break-whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is _he_ doing here?!" Stark had walked out of spacious living quarters; Loki supposed it could be called that, his smile turning into a frown as he pointed a finger at him.

Loki allowed a smirk to form on his lips and mockingly bowed to Stark, "I never did get to have that drink now did I?"

"Uh, yeah no, but still, Thor, what is he doing here?" Stark glared at him and turned to Thor.

"My brother has offered his assistance in this problem-"

"Oh really?" Stark shook his head in disbelief, "and what will it cost us now? More lives lost? Oh wait, let me guess you won't kill us or enslave us today, right?"

"Or perhaps for the last time I was in this city?" Loki smiled, full of teeth, but Stark shook his head with a toothy smile of his own.

"I ain't falling for that trick again, Reindeer Games. Nope, frankly don't care about the bargain you made-"

"You do not care for the hundreds of lives lost when I _used_ your building-

"Seriously? Jarvis, please let the media know that Loki's here and-"

"But you will not let them know because it will bring questions, questions you know your precious SHIELD cannot answer and will not answer," Loki loved baiting Stark and saw him frown as his lie was caught nice and neatly into the palm of his hand. He had studied the global "media" as Barton had told him during the time under his spell, and concluded that it was no more than pandering heralds who answered at the beck and call of bloodshed and war; highlighting the misery of those that suffered and those that glorified the warrior-like mortals. No wonder Thor found a lot in common with the mortals. Even some of the sciences, no matter how applied, someone found a use to make it into a weapon and Tony Stark was perhaps one of the biggest causes.

"I could still do it. In fact, I'm not on SHIELD's payroll you know. Just because I work with the others who work _for_ Fury doesn't make me on Fury's payroll. Hell, I don't like half of the stuff they're doing!" Stark's eyes were dark with anger before shook his head, "Why the hell am I defending myself to you anyways?! Thor, you said you were going to _consult_ with your brother-"

"He's not my brother," Loki narrowed his eyes, irritated.

"-not bring him here!" Stark continued heedless of his words.

"Sir," a disembodied, but cultured voice suddenly spoke up and Loki blinked, looking around, magicks tingling at the tips of his fingers for an attack, but there was none. "I've contacted Director Fury instead and he is aware of the situation. He will be sending in a team to assess the situation."

"Assess the situation? Uh, no, Jarvis, tell him he can land the quinjet at the helipad, but he isn't sending in a SHIELD team to storm my place. In fact, Reindeer Games can wait up there for them."

"Son of Stark, I understand your concern, but my brother _has_ personally asked the Allfather to rectify this situation. I can vouch for his good faith on this. He may be familiar with the poisons used upon Agent Romanoff and Captain Rogers."

"He probably created them," Stark replied darkly and Loki pursed his lips as Thor fell silent. Loki could hear the silent question Thor's body practically screaming, whether or not he had anything to do with this. Surprisingly Stark was not too far off the mark and the man of iron realized what he had intended as a joke was perhaps the truth. "Oh shit, are you serious?!"

Loki rolled his eyes, "Would I be here if I did create such a poison?"

"Let me guess, yes," Stark's eyes flashed in anger, "it would be just like you to do something like that. To watch two of the best that I know suffer and eventually die."

The words stung and it was an effort for Loki not to reel back as if he had been slapped by them. He knew he should not consider the opinion of the mere mortal, even though Stark was by far the closest to a battlemage on this realm, but it hurt. Even after Thanos, the Chitauri, it still hurt. Instead, he laughed lightly and shook his head, "Petty insults are the best you could come up with?"

"Just because you have a habit of cleaning up the problems you created, doesn't mean you have to be a complete psychopath to watch your own handiwork-"

"Hey! You're back!" the forced jovial tone of Dr. Bruce Banner cut Stark off and made everyone look beyond the doors to see the mild-mannered scientist adjusting his glasses as he stepped out into the balcony. A strained smile appeared on his face and Loki frowned as Stark stepped forward.

"I thought you were downstairs in the labs-"

"Jarvis told me that Thor was back so I wanted to get his opinion on what other tests I could run on this think save for cracking it open," Banner smiled openly at everyone and Loki immediately picked up on the lie. If this Jarvis was the disembodied voice, then there was no way that Banner did not know that he too was here with Thor. Banner suddenly stuck his hand out towards Loki, "Good to see you again."

Loki stared at the hand for a long minute before Stark snidely piped up, "You shake it."

"Only if one wishes to be friends-" he started before Stark's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hey, don't you go insulting my friend here-"

"Loki-"

"Uh-"

He stopped Dr. Banner from saying anything as well as to shut both Thor and Stark up by taking the doctor's hand and shaking it once, grip firm; all the while shooting the man of iron a smirk as he released the doctor's hand. "I trust you have come to no harm in recent events?" he directed his polite question to Banner who looked a little surprised at his gesture before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Uh, no. Tony here called me in to see if I can help with this," with his other hand Banner reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black sphere about the size of a child's marble.

The sphere itself was matte black, seemingly sucking in the light from all directions, but also did not give off anything that Loki could sense from it without the brush of his magicks.

"It's not giving off any particular radiation levels that I was able to scan nor is it seemingly made of any material here on Earth. It's more than likely an alien design, but since it's not giving off the magical equivalent of radiation, I don't really know what to make of it. I wasn't able to penetrate whatever barrier it has around it to scan inside. I was about to crack it to see if I could figure out what kinds of chemical compounds are there to hopefully start a cure, but I figured we should wait until you got back Thor. It's only been a few days since you left, but…since Loki's here, maybe you can help us?" Banner looked at him and tossed him the little black sphere.

Even as the surface of the sphere touched his outstretched fingers as he neatly caught the thrown object, Loki immediately knew that it was a trap. It was not a trap set by Dr. Banner, but rather by what he had unwittingly threw at him. He reacted on instinct, pushing the others back from him with a silent spell, before his hands worked the spells that he had long known to contain a poison of this kind as the black matte sphere exploded.

He jerked his head back on instinct in an effort not to breathe even though he knew his spell had been successful and held the crackling barrier of energy in between his hands. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the dissipating poison held back only by his magicks.

"Loki-"

"What the _hell_ was that?!" Stark's muffled voice made him turn to see the man of iron covering his mouth with a hand while Thor had stepped forward, hammer gripped tightly. This was nothing Thor could conceivably smash his way through, the irksome thought passed through his mind.

"It exploded…" Banner had not even put his hand to his mouth, but Loki noted with some chagrin that he had turned a bit green, but his skin was now returning to its normal tanned color.

"Yes it exploded," he agreed tightly as he concentrated on keeping the barrier steady, watching as more of the gaseous poison slowly dissipated into harmless air.

"It's releasing its gas," Stark's voice was still muffled.

"You are perfectly safe," Loki rolled his eyes at the man of iron and Stark snorted and shook his head.

"You're the God of Mischief and Lies so I'm not giving you the benefit of the doubt," Stark shot back as he shuffled a step back at the same time shuffling a step forward. Loki realized that Stark was indecisive, wanting to both flee from the area and at the same time see what was within the barrier he was keeping the poison contained in.

"Brother-"

"I am _not_ your brother," he hissed quietly and saw the hurt on Thor's face. It was also then that he realized he had not said those words to Thor since he had been revived by the Casket of Ancient Winters. They both knew that Thor had called him his brother more than once since then, but for him to say such words at the moment… Loki was determined not to feel guilty, but now was not the time-

"Is it because I tossed it at you? Because I didn't mean to do that-"

"It is a failsafe," he replied tightly as he mentally shored up a crack in the barrier while keeping the poison at bay. This was a very strong poison and he had a nasty feeling about its creator. Only _he_ would be able to create such poison, as it had been his forte as both the healer and poisoner of the coterie. "And a warning," he added, _meant for me_.

"A failsafe? So how come we weren't able to break it earlier?" Stark had finally decided that it was safe to breathe the air around them once more and stepped forward, bending his knees a little to study the crackling barrier. Loki frowned at him, feeling more like a display case than trying to contain the poison as it slowly dissipated.

"It is something your mere technology cannot crack," he could feel his hands start to shake and gritted his teeth a little, "nor break. If you had magicks and did not know, you would have instantly been killed and the secrets would have been dead with you. It also prevents the enemy from using this weapon against its creator."

"So how did you know what it was Thor?" Stark asked as Loki concentrated on the barrier, forcing the oxygen within to completely nullify the poison as it seemingly fought back to consume the oxygen. It wasn't much and he was working with a limited supply, but he would be damned if the poison so much as escaped.

"Because I had felt it once before. I could not be sure until I consulted with the Allfather and Loki here, but seeing this-"

Loki slammed his hands together; breaking the barrier and sending a spray of leftover magicks into the air as he finally finished his work and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did you do?" both Stark and Banner asked at the same time and he gave them a sideways look. They were like the ravens of the Allfather, curious to no end and always seemingly jabbering with questions and so forth.

"Dissipated it," he replied.

"But the cure-"

"Would not have been found inside it," he interrupted sourly, acknowledging Banner's grim shake of his head, "unfortunately the spell used to contain it and force it amongst the oxygen renders any type of scan completely useless. The containment process would have fought against its innate magicks within to spread and contaminate." He secretly wished there had been another way, but he had reacted on instinct and it was instinct that had saved all of them from dying right then and there.

"Damn," Banner shook his head, "I thought we could have had the cure right then and there. I mean, I did draw their blood, but the analysis has yet to be completed-"

His words were drowned out by the whine of an approaching quinjet as it came in for a landing on the helipad of Stark Tower. Loki noted to some degree of surprise that Stark had completely renovated the area where he had _compelled_ Dr. Selvig to set up the Tesseract-based portal device into a landing pad where the quinjet now sat. There were some unusual things on the edges of the pad that he knew should not be there, and caught Stark with a wolfish smile on his face. The man of iron had been staring at his reaction and Loki met the smile with a thin-lipped one of his own.

"Security and deterrent," Stark replied to his unspoken question before waving a hand at them, "Since Touch of Doom here destroyed the evidence; you guys get the nice pleasure of explaining to Fury why we don't have a sample to work with anymore."

"Thanks Tony," Banner replied dryly before Stark shook his head.

"I meant those two, not you. If you want, you can stay here and keep working with the blood samples we got. There has to be a way to at least make something of a stop-gap cure until we can find another alternative-"

"I'll probably also head to the Helicarrier-"

"Wait, what? No!"

"Tony, think about it. If Loki's here, it means something's going to go down and whatever it is, it may be key to getting a cure for Romanoff and the others," Banner shrugged as if being on the Helicarrier was not an issue.

Loki tilted his head curiously at the nonchalant attitude that the doctor was wearing; he knew first hand how much the doctor did not want to be there, having picked Barton's brain for the information – knew how much of a threat SHIELD considered Banner to be even though they claimed otherwise. It was why he had put together his plan in the first place. The Hulk was by far the biggest threat and asset the Avengers were sure to have – but after the _incident_ with Thanos, Loki was wondering why there was such an attitude about yet at the same time a resignation hanging there.

Perhaps SHIELD still did not trust Dr. Banner and while it brought some measure of comfort to Loki, it also somehow disturbed him. He did not know why, after all Banner was just a mere mortal, albeit one of the few to extend a measure of courtesy and outward friendliness towards him – but Loki had long decided it was his inner fear of the Hulk and being thrown about like a ragdoll by him.

"I don't care about the whole 'if Loki's here' type of deal. That's no excuse for you to feel pressured to go to the Helicarrier-"

"Tony-"

"And just because you feel obligated to help the _unpunished_ war criminal here-"

"Obligated? Really Tony? No, that's not how it works-don't interrupt me – because I certainly don't feel obligated to _help Natasha, Ward, and also Steve_ _and the other agents that you neglected to mention who were affected by the poison_. Yeah, sure, that's not obligation-"

"That's not-"

"That's fair and you know it. Tony, I'm going. I know what you were trying to do and thank you, really, _thank you_ for doing that. But I'm going. You and I know that even though your lab's got all of the works and can access SHIELD, it will be easier for me to try to find a cure quickly if I'm with them on the Helicarrier or even at whatever medical facility they've been shipped off to."

"You fight dirty," Stark looked angry, but shook his head, "fine then. Head up guys, I'll catch up with the sample analysis."

"Tony-"

"It's fine," there was something in Stark's tone that had become brittle and flippant as he walked back inside without so much as a wave to them; not that Loki expected the man of iron to be so courteous. But at the same time he could see something crumbling in the doctor's expression and it made him uncomfortable, reminding him of something long past…of himself, but not with Thor in place of Stark.

"We should do as the man of iron said," Thor put in quietly, but with the bluntness of his hammer. Loki all but shook his head and swept past the two of them, taking the set of stairs that he saw led up to the helipad. He heard them follow as he saw the quinjet's ramp open and two agents whom he did not know step out, their guns not quite raised towards him, but not shying away either.

He smiled at them and saw them stiffen a bit before their postures relaxed, signaling to Loki that Thor and Banner had come up the stairs behind him. One of them touched her ear and spoke quietly before gesturing for him with a frown to enter. "Why thank you," he said with the entire vacuum of politeness and saw the agent twitch a little in an effort not to shoot him. Taking a seat near the entrance, he sat down as Thor and Banner also entered, his brother fitting into one of the larger jump seats and Banner sitting himself in at the far corner of the quinjet, closest to the cockpit. He immediately belted himself in and turned away from them, a frown on his face, clearly wanting to be left alone.

"Tony Stark said he would be joining us soon. I presume he is to fly in his suit to the Helicarrier," Thor spoke up from his seat before the two agents glanced at each other and conferred with whoever was speaking to them judging by the cant of their heads. As one they both entered and one of them knocked on the cockpit door as the other pressed a button to bring the ramp back up.

Soon they were in the air and Loki felt the slightly unpleasant swooping sensation of a hovering quinjet before the tug of momentum as they flew towards their destination. It was about twenty minutes into their flight that Loki saw one of the two agents, both whom had remain standing in the quinjet, reach over to hand Dr. Banner a headset. Loki watched, mildly interested, as the doctor stared at the headset before putting it on and his face contorted into a series of half-laughs followed by a look of exasperation and then a resigned shake before he spoke into the microphone on the headset.

Loki knew he could easily cast a spell to listen into the conversation, but he decided not to, and it was not because of a polite quasi-friendliness with the doctor. He figured it had to be Stark on the other end, the man of iron perhaps apologizing for his treatment and words.

"Was it really Jormungandr's spell?" Thor rumbled near him, leaning over in his chair to ask his question.

Loki shrugged, not exactly in the mood to answer his brother's question, but at the same time, feeling a little spark of jealousy at the easy smile Banner now wore. He was not jealous of the banter and friendship between the scientist and the insufferable man, but he was jealous of the way Banner was able to relate and forgive Stark so quickly.

"Loki-"

"I do not know, so stop asking me," he hissed back at Thor, before crossing his arms and closing his eyes, wanting some peace and not wanting to see anymore of Banner's smile.

There was the creak of armor plates as Thor leaned back against his seat, but did not say anything else. Loki huffed a silent sigh and mentally shook his head. Asking the Allfather to deal with this was a bad idea, yet at the same time, he knew that it was something he needed to deal with and not let anyone else interfere. It was as if-

The creak of Thor's armor made him cut his thought off before he heard his brother rumble quietly near him, "If it is truly Jormungandr or even if it is not, I will stand arm in arm with you, brother."

Loki sighed loudly and opened his eyes as he stared at no point in particular on the quinjet, feeling it bank and the rumble of its engines grow louder as it made its descent to the Helicarrier. He had been on edge since Thor brought back the news, trying to find all sorts of distraction during his time in the library, his impromptu chess match with his mother, the feast, even trying to find some kind of distraction with Stark's inane rambling and Banner's mild-manners.

It would do no good to see how much the news rattled him, especially if it truly was Jormungandr. If it was not Jormungandr, well, he was not known as the God of Mischief, Trickery, and Lies for nothing and whomever was responsible would pay for their sorry attempt at mocking him. Even as the quinjet started to settle and land, Loki stood up, brushing himself off, startling the two agents who once again drew their weapons, but did not quite point it at him. He heard Thor stand up behind him as the quinjet finally landed with a quiet thump and one of the agents reached out to open the ramp.

"To _what_ do we owe the pleasure now, oh God of Lies?" Director Fury was standing at the end of the ramp, posture relaxed, hands behind him, but his lone eye spoke another story. They were angry, annoyed and at the same time resigned.

"Nothing more than a passing interest in your recent discovery of HYDRA's secret lair," he had plucked the more relevant information Thor had spoken during his telling of the tale at the feast.

"Oh really," Fury did not look convinced as Loki stepped down the ramp and gave him an open smile, one which was not returned. "Admit it, you just miss us," the dark-skinned man said sarcastically.

"I try not to make it too much of a habit to come here-"

"Except to blow up cities and play pranks on the rest of the populace," Fury interjected, "I've been reading some of the stories about you."

"And they are just that, mere tales," Loki was vaguely aware of tales told of him, Thor, Odin, and a host of Asgardians and even Frost Giants, and the like. Some were of names that he did not even know, but he supposed the mortals were prone to creating wildly inaccurate tales of things that they could not comprehend.

"Yeah, well, fiction sometimes come from fact and vice versa," Fury shook his head, "so what's your price now?"

Loki laughed lightly as he spread his hands out, noting that there were no other agents around, but he was willing to bet that they were hidden within the vicinity. The clomping of boots on the inner hanger bay told him that the man of iron had arrived. "No price," he said, "no catch, just a vested interest in HYDRA's leader."

"Vested _personal_ interest?" Fury tilted his head and Loki's smile only grew a little wider.

"Perhaps," he clasped his hands behind him.

"Director, I can vouch for my bro-for Loki's interest as it is mine too," Thor rumbled behind him and Loki saw Fury's gaze narrow a little as he digested the new information.

"Can I ask why?" Fury looked back and forth in between them, "or is it some kind of hush-hush that's gonna blow up in all our faces like Thanos."

All of the sort-of goodwill he had been feeling towards Fury vanished in an instant as he frowned and gritted his teeth in anger. He had _not_ kept Thanos a secret from them even though he had innately _known_ what was going to happen. It was something that they should have been aware of from the beginning and he had practically _told_ them when he had arrived with Thor after the harried battle on Jotunheim. For Fury to insinuate this-

"_I_, believe," Thor reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, "that HYDRA's newest leader is a healer of great skill name Jormungandr. My _brother_ here, is only here to confirm or deny Jormungandr's presence."

"You?"

"Yes," there was something in Thor's even tone that Loki could not quite identify until he realized it that he had heard it time after time since Thanos had wrecked his path to him before being trapped – unconditional support. The firmness of Thor's hand on his shoulder gave weight to his words.

"And what happens then?"

"He will be brought to justice," Thor replied, "both Asgardian and Midgardian justice Director. I understand your position regarding Loki's actions here on Earth and will not deny you that chance."

"Your dad doesn't seem to think so-"

"My father will hear wisdom in my words," Thor shrugged as if it was a mere thing, but Loki heard the weight behind them and they sounded like what the King of the Nine Realms would say.

"Just a consultant, you say?" Fury's lips curled in a twisted sense of amusement and Loki heard Stark splutter behind him, but did not know what had passed between the two. Whatever it was, it infuriated Stark to no end, so he let it pass.

"All right, so what now," Fury seemed to accept the terms stated and placed his hands on his hips.

"Director, I'm going to need a lab to work in along with some specialized equipment, I have the list-" Banner stepped up and held up a piece of paper.

"Done," Fury extended his hand and shook Banner's, "it's good to see you again Doctor."

"Can't say I'm kind of glad to be back here, but I need to be near the patients if they haven't been moved yet…?"

"No," the dark-skinned man shook his head, "I've put them all under quarantine and I feel a lot safer if they're up here than down in some lab somewhere where HYDRA can get at them again."

"Good idea," Banner agreed before gesturing towards Stark, "Tony, you got the results?"

"Yeah, can't quite read them well, but I think it's not the ones your looking for," Stark shrugged as he clomped over still in his metal exoskeleton, "I can see if they respond to the modified Extremis virus-"

"Or that might make it worst," Banner grimaced, "anyways, Director, if you could tell the staff that I'll probably need some fresh vials of blood so we can test that theory…"

"I'll have it sent to your lab. Agent Sitwell can escort you there," Fury said as Loki was amused at the sudden appearance of a seemingly innocuous agent with olive skin and steel-rimmed glasses on his nose. They watched as Stark, Banner, and Sitwell left the hanger bay before Fury turned to them.

"And you-"

"I will need to see those that had survived the poison," he cut Fury off before the Director stared at him, his lone eye blinking several times before an eyebrow rose as if he was ascertaining the truth of his words. He finally nodded slowly before making a quick gesture with his fingers and a female agent whom Loki vaguely remembered as Hall, or something appeared by Fury's side, having hidden herself in the shadows of the quinjet that had landed.

"Agent Hill will escort you," Fury said and Loki was well aware of the unspoken command that Hill would perhaps try to incapacitate him should anything untoward happen.

"I look forward to our new arrangement," he smiled toothily at Fury before following Hill out of the hanger bay, Thor following them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Please note, I am NOT asking for reviews, I will never hold a story hostage for reviews – but I do like feedback. It's been a while since I wrote Loki and I would like to hear back from readers if I'm characterizing him right or if something is wrong with what's happening at the moment in terms of plot. If you don't feel like leaving feedback or a review, that's fine too, I will not fault you for it (I'm horrible at leaving reviews too).


	4. Chapter 4

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 4_

The thought that Hill was perhaps trying to make him confused by the Helicarrier's layout by leading him through a series of winding corridors was briefly in Loki's mind. But he push passed it realizing that it was truly SHIELD protocol that those who had been poisoned and survived were under the strictest of isolation, or quarantine as Fury had put it. He had seen such isolation a few times in the thousand and something years he had been alive, poisons that were created within the realm's natural defenses, cultivated from the various plants on planets within the realm itself. Or even magical spells that had not been tested yet, but had created situations where it had spread like contagion.

The soldiers on guard within the Helicarrier did not seem as surprised to see them, but Loki easily read their hostility in their body languages as they stayed at their post. He only smiled gamely, not bothered by their attempts to provoke him. Surprisingly, Thor followed silently behind, though he had banished his armor along the way. Loki had not worn his armor at all, having left it on Asgard, but he was beginning to wonder if he should have brought it.

The poison cloud he had dissipated on top of Stark Tower had traces of _his_ magical signature, but he still was not sure if it was truly Jormungandr. Mentally shrugging to himself, he reasoned silently that with armor, he was probably more vulnerable as speed was of the essence when dealing with the Midgard serpent.

"So, Loki, you know who we're dealing with?" Hill said suddenly as she walked ahead of them.

"I have theories," he replied after a moment of trying to sense whether or not her question had any hostility or untoward meaning. "But I cannot be sure until I am able to verify a few things."

"Theories you probably don't want to share right now, right?" she asked, not even glancing back at him and he snorted lightly.

"I have my secrets, you have yours," he replied.

"Loki, I do not think this is a secret that should be kept," Thor rumbled quietly behind him, but he ignored his brother's request.

"Want to enlighten me, Thor?" Hill's ears were sharp even with Thor's near-whisper and he frowned.

"I…it is a delicate matter that I do not think improper-"

"Impropriety was always your strongest suit, Thor," Loki shot back, "and you would only be filling her head with speculations and wild accusations that may lead to nowhere. For all we know, it could be a mortal sorcerer who has done such a thing. After all, was it not a mortal who discovered the Tesseract in one of their wars?"

"So if it isn't?" Loki turned his head back around to see Hill stopping by a door and punching in a keycode.

He brushed the pad discreetly as he had done before the last time he was on the Helicarrier and memorized the code she put in even though she had clearly shielded herself in front of it. All the while, he had to acknowledge her astute capability of listening for things _not_ said versus things said. At the same time he knew that she was hoping he would answer her trapped question and deigned not to reply by quickly brushing past her and into the isolation ward.

"The fucking hell is _he_ doing here?!" Clint Barton's pointed finger and accusation made him stop and spread his hands out as a smile graced his features. Loki felt a bloom of dark amusement at how riled up the archer got even after his absence all these months at his presence.

"Stand down Agent Barton," Hill squeezed past him, one hand on the butt of her holstered gun, her other hand held out in an attempt to ward the archer away. He saw Barton reach behind him as if to draw an arrow and string it before he himself, realized he was not wearing his arrow pack and bow. Instead, he changed tactics and drew out a small handgun and pointed it straight at him – or rather straight at Hill's head as if he could magically shoot through her to get to him.

"Barton!" Hill barked, but the man did not twitch, "Stand. Down."

"What's he doing here, ma'am?" Barton's voice was tight with deep-seeded anger, "I thought we were done with fuckers like him-"

"Language!" her sharp voice cut him off and Loki was inwardly surprised at the venom they contained. For a moment, she sounded like Queen Frigga in all of her royal glory and the Queen was someone not to be trifled with when angered – even Odin Allfather avoided angering her.

"Ma'am…"

"Stand down and I will tell you why," Hill continued, dropping her voice into a quiet calm tone.

For a moment Barton seemed to war with the conflicting emotions within before he finally breathed out a noisy sigh and holstered his gun, but did not step back.

"Thank you," Hill nodded once, "Loki is here because Thor brought him here."

"What you couldn't call him on the Bifrost phone and talk to him? You had to bring him here?" Barton's voice was still tight with anger.

"Maybe Loki knows what's going on Barton," the voice of Steven Rogers made everyone, the archer excluded, turn to see him rise up from where he had been sitting further down the isolation ward.

"Or maybe he created it," the archer shot back still trying to burn holes into him with his glare, "just like he did the whole thing with Thanos."

It was odd, how nearly the same comment did not even bother Loki when it came from the archer instead of Stark. He supposed it was probably because he knew that Barton would forever hate him and while Stark held perhaps the same amount of animosity, he also did not really know the depths of Stark's hatred – unlike Barton's. It was easily ignored and pushed aside as he moved towards the beds.

"Loki, what-" Agent Hill started, but before she could get in another word of protest, he cast his spell, splaying his fingers out towards Romanoff who was lying on one of the beds.

He heard everyone around him seemingly panic for a moment as they scrambled for weaponry or were shouting, but ignored all of it as he concentrated on his spell and on Romanoff. She was paler than he had last remembered her, her red hair hanging limply across her closed eyes. A breathing contraption of sorts had been placed over her nose and mouth as well as multiple tubes and wires that seemingly beeped at steady intervals. It only took him a moment to realize that they were monitoring her brain waves and heart rate.

For all he knew, she could have been sleeping, even with the wires and tubes eliminated from her pale form, but with his spell, he was able to see just below her skin. An energy web of sorts seemingly crisscrossed the blue of her veins, just below the surface, like shooting stars across the night sky. They bloomed and ebbed with each minute explosion, seemingly sending even more sparks across her pale prone form. He studied it, tuning out the noises behind him as he weaved his spell a little tighter. He needed to be delicate in this process, or else the trace would be long gone. He gently bent the tip of his index finger as he traced one particular synapse, watching it as it traveled from her jawline down to her neck where it burst into pieces across her shoulder.

Several paths traveled down her arm and back up it again, while more spread across her body. He saw past the flimsy gown she had been put in, tracing the path through her body's core. A part of him murmured that it was a violation of her privacy, but Loki dismissed it as he continued to watch its path progress all the way down to her hips where it traced the main lines of her nervous and muscular structure. There were traces of some foreign material mixed in as it had traveled from her heart downwards; but he flicked the tip of his pinky finger to push it aside for further study as the original trace continued its journey towards her knees, where it burst into another million pieces. Some headed back up, affecting other parts of her body, but he traced the original source where it ended at the tips of her feet and straightened his index finger.

Frowning a little, he looked towards her pale face once more and focused in on her nose, his thumb twitching a little as he brushed the surface layer with his spell. It was not much, but it was one of the entry points, the concentration of the poison greatest there and also within her mouth. Even her eyes had traces and it was perhaps a testament to either her health or maybe the mysterious foreign material he had traced that she was still alive.

There was one more test he could do, but he also knew that to try it, especially with Agent Barton here, was tantamount to suicide and Loki had no inclination of facing the wrath of everyone in SHIELD. Even Thor would have turned against him and he would rather not be pinned to wherever by Mjolnir.

Releasing the spell, he turned to the other bed that Rogers had been sitting next to and deduced that this was Agent Ward, the other person who had breathed the poison in, but had not perished. He cast his spell once more and traced the clusters, his frown deepening as he bent the crook of his index finger, finding it a little harder to receive a solid read on his trace. Ward must have not breathed in much, but breathed in enough that he was affected. He did not know the circumstances of what had happened, but could only guess that Romanoff, for all of her aloofness and claims of lack of attachments, perhaps stopped Ward and Rogers from making her fatal mistake.

"…Loki," Rogers' voice was quiet, but he canted his head in acknowledgment as he continued to trace his spell over Ward. "I know this is probably not a good time to tell you this, but….the others, the HYDRA soldiers who were also caught in the effects, they fell to the ground like they had been shot, point blank."

He heard the hesitation in the enhanced soldier's shuffling of his feet as he traced a small cluster to Ward's hip bone where it surprisingly did not travel downwards as much as it did upwards back through the man's intestines.

"Continue," he murmured quietly, half puzzling over this new development compared to what he had scanned Romanoff for.

"They bled out, their blood like black thick, dripping sludge. I don't know if it was acidic, but I thought it was burning me. There weren't any traces on my armor, but I thought it was burning my skin through my armor, almost like venom from snakebite or something," Rogers gave his information in a factual manner, but Loki picked up on the distress that the Captain had to have been feeling. There was guilt at leading those under his command into the situation that landed them like this, but at the same time, there was a hopeful resignation that something could be done. The resignation that if there was nothing that could be done, then that would be two more soldiers that perished under his command.

At the same time, he could feel a worm of not quite guilt, but rather resignation of what the Captain had described. Damn, this was not what he wanted it to be, but Rogers' words had fit what he had dreaded to hear and to know. There were a few more things he needed to confirm, but what he had described…it had been described by Thor once before.

He released the spell on Agent Ward before moving over to the third bed and scanned the unconscious agent, frowning again as had to dig a little deeper to actually pick up on the signatures. He had thought _they_ had been imprisoned for good, that it was a mercy compared to what the Allfather could have done. It was for the best and it was the best considering the circumstances. And now…

He finished up his scan and released the spell, taking a moment to compose his features into one that would show nothing. He turned around and saw that Barton had moved to the foot of Romanoff's bed and had his arms crossed defensively, but was staring at him with sharp eyes. Hill had stayed back, watching him with narrowed eyes while Rogers waited patiently next to Ward's bed. Thor was by the doorway, his eyes desperately searching his composed face for any answers, but Loki refused to given an inch.

"Excuse me," Banner's muffled voice came by the door way and all turned to see the scientist squeezing past Thor's bulk.

Loki ignored his entry and turned to Agent Hill, "I will need vials of blood-"

"Err, I'm actually picking mine up-"

"Fresh ones, not the ones you will be conducting your tests with," he countered, "from each of the poisoned patients, including the Captain here."

"Wait what?!" Rogers balked and Loki smiled grimly at him.

"You are the second being in all of the nine realms to describe what has happened to those who breathed the poison in," he did not meet Thor's gaze as his brother started at the revelation.

"Uh…."

"Perhaps it is you who is the modified mortal soldier that has been able to survive," he speculated, "but you have breathed the poison in."

"I…I feel fine-"

"Agent Hill, please take me to those who have perished," he brushed past Rogers and made his way towards the entrance to the isolation ward before he heard Banner start to talk to Rogers about perhaps he being the cure. He wanted to tell the two of them that Rogers was _not_ the cure, but at the same time something prevented him from doing it. It only took a moment for him to realize that he oddly did not want to dash that hope, not just yet and wondered when he had become so sentimental towards the mortals. They were nothing except parasites and leeches that died and lived in brief flickering candled lives.

As the female agent regained her composure, he saw her touch her ear, "Director, Loki says that Rogers is also compromised. Banner's going to see if he can make a cure out of Rogers' blood, but hopefully we have a lead."

"Is it him?" Thor rumbled behind him, but Loki ignored him and continued to walk deeper into the Helicarrier.

"Loki-" he felt Thor reach out to grab him and spun on his heel, pinning him in place with a warning glare not to touch him. "Is it him?"

He turned back around and continued to follow Hill who had stared at them with curious, but calculating eyes. Let her draw her own conclusions, he sniffed quietly; she would never understand what was going on. They soon reached a sparely populated area and Hill keyed in another set of codes that Loki brushed with a spell and memorized. The door hissed open, releasing cool misty vapors and Loki could feel the temperature drop a little as they stepped inside, past several hanging plastic barriers.

"This is our morgue area. We keep most of the deceased SHIELD agents here, but we picked up a few HYDRA ones too from the base since we didn't know what we were dealing with," Hill explained as she tugged hard on a large drawer of sorts. It slid open with a cool hiss and Loki saw that it was a black-clad soldier with an emblem that had snake-like heads over a stylized face.

Before Hill could protest, he pulled a dagger from its place in his boot and stabbed it deep into the layers of fabric and cold, dead flesh. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thor holding Hill back, implicitly trusting him as he went about his work. Dragging the dagger down the body, he only had a split second warning before he immediately let the dagger go and brought both hands up, enclosing the body in the same barrier spell he had conjured when Dr. Banner had thrown the small marbleized poison at him.

"Shit! What the hell?!" Hill cursed as a loud noise started to blare at the sudden release of a black plume of gaseous ichor from the dead body. Loki felt his hands shake as he gritted his teeth and reinforced the barrier, forcing his magicks to contain the poison.

"Loki-"

"Shut the noise off! It is distracting!" he growled out through clenched teeth as he forced himself to concentrate.

"What's-"

"My brother has it contained, please turn off the alarms," he could barely heard Thor through the cacophony of annoying noise, but a moment later the noise stopped and Hill's voice was unnaturally loud in the morgue.

"-yes sir. It seems like the situation is contained-"

"It is," Thor's voice echoed loudly.

"-will update. No, no sir. We do not need a containment team here…yes, sir, I will let you know what's happening as soon as-"

"I believe my brother is dissipating the spell once more like he did on the rooftop of Stark's building."

"Wait, he did what?!"

"The poison capsule exploded when it was handed to my brother by Dr. Banner through no fault of his own. It was keyed to magicks and apparently inevitable. A clever trick that Loki says would prevent those who wielded magicks to use it against its creator," Thor continued.

"Uh, sir, Thor's saying that the grenade doesn't exist anymore," Hill said, "yes, sir, I know sir…Stark or Dr. Banner knows the details of what happened…"

Loki tuned out the rest of what was most likely an interesting conversation between Hill, Thor, and Fury as he forced the poison to dissipate. It congealed and lashed out as if it was alive and Loki smiled grimly. A clever trap and one if he had not been familiar with would have walked right into it. But with new added knowledge of what was happening, he was able to direct the seemingly poison that was a swirling maelstrom within the decaying body towards the only thing that it could lash out at, a tempting target…

He watched as the poison swirled angrily before leeching itself onto the dagger still embedded into the dead body, discoloring it into a hideous matte black color that glittered with webs of energy much like what he had scanned through Romanoff, Ward, and the unnamed agent in the isolation wards. It was seemingly organically alive, inviting if one knew what to look for, but Loki watched it completely colored the once silvery-gold dagger completely inky black before just as suddenly, the body exploded underneath the embedded dagger.

Loki reinforced the barrier as chunks of dead flesh sizzled against the barrier and dissolved into nothingness. After a few minutes, all that was left was the blackened dagger that toppled to the tray where the body had been held in.

"Is it…over?" Hill ventured to ask a few seconds later.

"Thor," Loki ignored her as he tried to keep his hands steady, feeding the barrier spell. The decompression of the dead body had nearly made the barrier collapse, "Set Mjolnir on the dagger."

He heard his brother's heavy footsteps move closer to him before Thor hefted Mjolnir into his line of vision and hesitantly lifted it to the edge of the barrier. Mjolnir crackled against the barrier itself, small arcs of electric magicks playing across the surface. He was about to open his mouth to remind Thor _not_ to set his hand within the barrier, but before he could say anything, Thor dropped Mjolnir directly on top of the dagger, covering the dagger as a whole.

Loki immediately released his barrier as a crackling sound erupted from where Mjolnir itself was fighting to keep the poisonous dagger at bay. The smell of ozone and burnt electric arcs started to fill the area as wisps of smoke wafted upwards from where the dagger met Mjolnir.

"…Loki…"

He pulled a modular he had kept within the spaces in between out and cast several barrier spells upon it before opening it and letting it hover near Mjolnir. "Thor, on my mark…"

"Understood," he knew he should be thankful that Thor had not even asked a word of what was going on or what he needed to do as his brother was wont to do at the most inconvenient times. At least Thor understood the seriousness of the situation without Loki resorting to snapping at him.

He kept one hand free, hovering just at the edges of where the electrical field Mjolnir produced kept the dagger at bay. He could feel it weakening already, the magical artifact itself not designed to contain such an organic, viscous thing at bay. His other hand held the open modular and he took a deep breath. He would have to be quick, quicker than the viper's strike of poison. Steadying his breath, he calmed himself to strike-

"Now!" even as the words left his mouth, he was already moving, feeling the break of Mjolnir's electrical field and slammed the modular down, grinning as the dagger was trapped within.

"Now it is over Agent Hill," Thor rumbled as Loki picked the modular up and held it up to his eyes to stare at the poison that had corroded and eaten his dagger up.

"Is it safe in there?" Hill asked, taking a step forward, her eyes focused on the dagger contained within. Loki could feel his magicks at work keeping it at bay, but with the reinforcement of the modular itself, he did not have to exert as much as when he cast the spell directly.

"If there are any more bodies around, do not bury or burn them. Freeze them or else you will have more poisoned," Loki said, not bothering to look at her as he rotated it slowly before placing the modular within the space in between and headed out of the morgue. He heard Hill scramble to talk to Fury over the comm. piece in her ear, as he swept down the long halls and headed back towards the hanger bay.

"Loki! Answer me! Is it him?!" Thor hurried to catch up to him, his heavy footsteps thumping behind him, but Loki did not answer as he focused on getting to the hanger bay. He pushed aside SHIELD personnel that did not leap out of the way with a flick of magicks from his fingers, making some of them yell and scream. He could hear Thor apologizing behind him, but pushed it out of his mind as he inwardly started to seethe.

It _was_ him, and all of this…it was supposed to not be like this. _They_ knew the consequences of their actions. He needed to consult the Allfather, needed to make him understand that it was not- He shook his head…he had read the hesitation and slight mistrust, the questioning within the Allfather's gaze as he had asked to rectify the situation. And now…proof at hand that it was the worst scenario ever. He needed to petition the Allfather-

"Loki!" Loki had reacted on instinct and summoned a dagger even before he completed his spin around, throwing Thor's hand off of his shoulder before he stopped himself.

"What," he said flatly, annoyed and irritated as they arrived at the hanger bay.

"Is. It. Him?" Thor asked again and Loki glared at his brother.

"What do you think?" he snapped back, his patience wearing thin.

"I cannot see what you see, Loki," Thor replied back, his voice tight with barely contained patience, "I only see what is before me and while my instincts sometimes have led me astray, I do not want to make the mistakes that have courted war."

"This is _not_ a war," Loki laughed bitterly; "this…this _is_ a mistake."

Thor seemed to consider his words for a few seconds before nodding gravely, "Then I shall inform my friends and be discreet regarding such information."

Loki snorted, "No need to be polite on my account. You give away information freely about Thanos and of what has happened without second thoughts."

"Yes, but in this matter, it is one which…has affected us both. You are my brother Loki-"

"If this is a sentimentality you plan on using to _try_ to make us what we used to be, then you are sorely mistaken," how many times did he have to tell Thor that they were _never_ going to be brothers again? At most, perhaps wary allies and members of the court, who occasionally fought common enemies, but that was it.

"It is a stubbornness that you seem to deny as much as I seem to uphold," Thor shot back and Loki shook his head, but allowed Thor the victory of his words – for the moment. There were other ways to shut down Thor's attempts to be brothers once again.

"Then if you insist on continuing the farce, I will need a workstation when I return," he said and before Thor could get another word in edgewise, jogged to the edge of the hanger bay where the wind whipped at his hair and his tunics. "Heimdall open the Bifrost!"

His vision was soon engulfed in the starlight pressure of the Bifrost as he returned to Asgard.

* * *

Loki forced himself not to take a deep gulping breath as he landed in the golden hues of Heimdall's Observatory. He never really had trouble using the Bifrost, but wondered if his time in the voids of Yggdrasil's roots had changed that. Pushing the thought aside for another time, he walked past the golden-armored man and took the reigns of the horse brought before him.

"My Prince, I have not seen Jormungandr in his form amongst the land masses. It seems he may be disguised or have taken on another appearance," Heimdall called out behind him and he turned his horse a little to acknowledge his words.

"And word on the others?" he asked, hoping that Sif and the Warriors Three had not yet made their report. He did not want to face the Allfather's wrath if they had returned with news of either their escape or continued confinement.

"They have not yet returned," Heimdall's voice was decidedly neutral and his golden eyes said nothing, but Loki had the distinct feeling that the gatekeeper was a little sympathetic towards him. Even though they had their differences and Loki would not hesitate to disable the gatekeeper if it meant an end to his goals, he felt oddly touched by the seemingly extended olive branch and took it for what it was.

He heeled his horse and galloped off, making haste for the golden spires of the throne room and court of the Allfather. He could have easily pulled at the skeins and webs into the hidden paths within Yggdrasil's shadows, but Loki did not want to walk the shadows since Thanos' imprisonment. He had reasoned to himself that the frivolous use of magicks would only serve to drain him, and especially with the confirmation that he had received back on Midgard, he would need all of his reserves.

Dismounting as he arrived at the edges of the throne room after galloping across the Courtyard of Wonders and startling several Courtiers and guards, he hurried in and saw to his relief that the Allfather was only holding a meeting with General Tyr and Erikur. The young healer who had lost his sister Hilde in the beginning skirmishes with the Chitauri had been promoted to Archmage due to his actions in the battle to trap Thanos months ago. It was a title comparable to a General like Tyr, but one that would never see the light of day due to the Court's mistrust of magicks and the like. All they saw was a healer, one who was not quite using magicks, but nonetheless was able to cure whatever ailed an Asgardian.

He waited at the edges of the small audience, waiting for the Allfather to acknowledge him, but when it became clear after several minutes that the Allfather would not do so, Loki started to fidget. He would not burst in and announce his business like Thor did in his boorish way, but there had to be a way, save sending a familiar or ghostly familiar, to let the Allfather know that he had returned with urgent news.

Finally after several more minutes of waiting, the Allfather lifted his head a little and dipped it slightly in acknowledgment for him to come forward. It had also quieted both Tyr and Erikur who stepped aside as they saw he was there. Loki thought he caught the amused twinkle in the Allfather's eye of making him wait and gritted his teeth in annoyance. This was not a trifling matter, could Odin _not_ see that?

"What is it you wish, Loki?" if there was one thing that Loki was grateful for, was that no matter how public the audience, the Allfather never acknowledged him with words of affection like 'my son' or any of that nonsense that Thor always insisted upon. It had been a silent agreement of sorts between the two of them and Loki had taken it to heart that in a way, perhaps the Allfather had started to see his value and gifts that he had not previously seen or had seemingly dismissed.

"To petition a request to travel to Helheim," he said quietly, keeping his gaze even upon the Allfather's lone eye.

A single white eyebrow rose as the Allfather sat back to contemplate his request, "Judging by the lack of your brother's presence, I would have presumed this was not Jormungandr's work, but your petition states otherwise. To what reason? I have already requested Heimdall to transport Lady Sif and the Warriors Three to Helheim after they have finished in Lake Amsvatnir."

"Jormungandr would not have access this easily to the deceased souls of Helheim if it not be for Lady Hel," he brought out the contained dagger and saw Erikur immediately back away from it, gagging on seemingly invisible pressure and stench of noxious magicks that swirled within the container. Even though it was perfectly contained, there was still the actual _feeling_ of such nauseating magicks that even he could feel while holding the modular containment field. He supposed it was because he had dealt with this type of magicks before that he was able to not be repulsed by it.

He knew the Allfather also felt what Erikur felt, but was perhaps too well versed in different forms of magicks to react as violently as he had.

"Archmage-"

"Calm down General, it is only the more natural reaction," he shot a look at General Tyr who had not moved. It was clear that those who did not wield the magicks were immune to its effects, which made the poison within all the deadlier.

"I am…I am sorry," Erikur took several deep breaths as he tried to compose himself and shuffled forward once more, but also shied away from where Loki stood with the modular in his hand.

Loki wanted to hold the field out some more to see Erikur squirm a bit in mild amusement, but instead put the modular back in the spaces in between all the while rolling his eyes at the loud sigh Erikur exhaled upon its disappearance.

"Your petition is denied," the Allfather suddenly said and Loki blinked, shocked.

"But-"

"General Tyr, Archmage Erikur, you will both go in the Prince's stead. Seek out Lady Hel and bring her before me to answer for this," the Allfather addressed to the two and Loki saw both nod, though Erikur looked a little nauseous at the prospect of traveling to Helheim.

"Allfather-"

"You are dismissed," Odin ignored his protest and addressed the other two who bowed and left the throne room.

Loki could not believe that his petition had been denied. He was sure that the Allfather would have allowed him to travel to Helheim, but at the same time he wondered if Odin did not trust him as much as he had thought. Did he suspect that he had something to do with Jormungandr's escape and access to the souls of the deceased? The thought hurt and he gritted his teeth in anger. "And what of me?" he grounded out quietly.

"I give you leave," the Allfather replied and Loki glared up at the lone eye, wanting to yell at him, to shout that he was innocent.

However, at the same time, he could almost imagine seeing the Allfather seemingly agree with him, but ready to keep him imprisoned on Asgard in order to keep an eye on him. It would be as bad as having the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, Thor, and even his mother follow him around when Thanos was playing his tricks. No, he would take advantage of those words and do what he must in the meantime. He nodded once, sharp and quick, before spinning on his heel and marching out of the throne room, heading straight for the healers wing.

He would prove to the Allfather that he had _nothing_ to do with this.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Thank you to those who have read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this fic. You guys rock! Delving deeper into the norse myths now! Also, since this is posted on Oct. 31st, please do not spoil _Thor: The Dark World_ for me as the U.S. won't be getting the movie until Nov. 8th.


	5. Chapter 5

Coterie

By: Shadow Chaser

**Disclaimer:**

All Marvel characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Comics. Liberties were taken with the Norse myths.

**Story:**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

The quinjet that had taken him, Thor, and Dr. Banner to the Helicarrier was gone by the time Loki returned; the last glittering remnants of the Bifrost dropping him off at the edge of the hanger bay once more. Thor had been waiting for him as he turned and saw him walk towards him, a grim look on his face.

"I feared the Allfather would have detained you," Thor said and Loki easily dodged his attempt to place a hand on his shoulder by moving to the side. Surprisingly, Thor took it in stride and gestured for them to walk towards the inner confines of the Helicarrier once more. "I have procured a workstation as you requested though it is in the same room where Dr. Banner is working."

Loki frowned before nodding reluctantly. He supposed he could not fault Thor for his various attempts at trying to make him socialize with the mortals, but at least Dr. Banner was the best alternative, considering the circumstances. He could easily ignore Dr. Banner if need be and if Stark was also working on the cure, could easily silence him with a spell. He still did not understand why Thor loved the mortals and the group he was working with; they were but brief candles in their very long lives.

"Has the Allfather-"

"He has sent General Tyr and Archmage Erikur to Helheim to fetch the Lady Hel," Loki explained, briefly wondering how long he had been gone. Surely the others knew of Jormungandr by now, but Thor seemed a little nervous judging by how he twisted Mjolnir's leather grip in his hand.

"The Lady Hel?" But-"

"Jormungandr would not have had easy access to the souls of the deceased, Thor," Loki shook his head, "I am sure Lady Hel has had a hand in all of this."

"But…she-"

He laughed a little bitterly at Thor's protest. He was like the others at Court, unable to comprehend why the ruler of Helheim would do such a thing. And like the others, many had forgotten that Hel _had been_ a part of his coterie even if she was the ruler of the realm of the dead. Then again, perhaps it was what she always wanted, to observe and see the world from a distant view, always in the shadows, always working from behind the scenes. It seemed the Allfather was the only one who remembered who Hel really was and why he had petitioned to go to her realm.

"…Loki…"

"How easily you forget, brother, of her actions and punishment," he said, biting his lower lip as he too was reminded of who Hel truly was. Those were the memories he had long buried, had not wanted to examine again after everything. Those were the ones that he had sought to make sure would never be used again.

"She has freed Jormungandr?" Thor asked and Loki shook his head.

"That I do not know," he replied, knowing that it was easy to lie, and speculate, but with the Allfather's denial of his petition and the fact that Heimdall had not found Jormungandr nor had Lady Sif and the Warriors Three reported back from Lake Amsvatnir, it was all he could do to not lie. Any lie now would be suspect, anything said used against him and Loki had no inclination of being that _weak_ to embrace them again.

He could see Thor eyeing him as they walked in the steel-grey corridors, passing by SHIELD personnel who either stared at him with open suspicion or were surprised and flattened themselves against the narrow corridors. Loki felt a little brush of anger and hurt at the fact that Thor was staring at him. He wanted to say that he was not lying, but at the same time knew those words were one that always got others to think that he _was_ lying. He shook his head and pretended not to notice Thor's look – let the Allfather speculate, let Thor wonder, he decided that he stopped caring long ago.

"I…shall add this to the impending discussion I must have with my friends," Thor finally said after a few minutes of silences as he stopped in front of a door and pressed a small button to open it up.

To Loki's surprise, it was the same lab he had worked in the last time he was on the Helicarrier, though all traces of where Thanos had ripped open a portal at his former station was gone. Still, Loki sent a tendril of magicks out towards that area and felt the ghosting remnant of magicks there. That was interesting and it would have to be examined, but not at the moment.

"Oh, hey Thor, Loki," Dr. Banner greeted them as he looked up from where he had been carefully squeezing drops of liquid into vials. He looked back down and continued with what he was doing. "Sorry guys, kind of in the middle of something important…um, yeah, sure…" Banner said absently.

Loki was momentarily confused before he realized the doctor was talking into a small earpiece that looped around one of his ears and ended in a small point near his mouth. He saw the doctor tap on the ear before looking up at them with a smile on his face. "Old familiar digs, though a heck of a lot more tubes and medical equipment than the last time. Um, Thor, the others say that they're only ten minutes out heading to D.C. which is southwest of here so you can probably catch them."

"Understood, thank you Doctor," Thor nodded before turning to him, "Director Fury ordered us to re-secure Washington D.C. and take the bodies of those who were deceased by HYDRA's poison grenades for frozen storage until we could readily dispose of them."

"If the poison has not spread," Loki had no doubt that some of those bodies had been buried and Thor nodded grimly in assent.

"That is what I feared has happened since the attack, but nonetheless there must be efforts to contain the poison," he said before looking at him. For a second, Loki had the brief irritated notion that Thor was going to do something _brotherly _and _sentimental_, but he only nodded once and left, the door hissing closed behind him.

Loki blinked a little in surprise – was Thor actually _learning?_ Had he actually gotten through to his brother that no amount of affection from him was actually going to make them into the brothers that they once were? That he did not _want_ that sort of affection-

"You know, you shouldn't be too hard on Thor," Banner spoke up quietly from where he was, his eyes crossed as he stared at a vial held close to his face, "he really cares for you-"

"No one asked your opinion," Loki shot at the Doctor, irritated that he had the gall to interject himself and voice his opinion on what was clearly a disagreement between the two of them. However, he caught himself as he had nearly forgotten that Banner carried the green monster within him…

The doctor shrugged as if his words did not affect him, "I'm just saying that when you see someone like that in pieces after…well…after you died, you kind of realize stuff about motivations and all of that."

"Sentiment," Loki growled out quietly, "will get Thor killed."

"Or it just might save _you_," Banner lowered his vial and stared at him, his eyes holding an emotion that Loki did not want to identify.

He ignored the doctor and headed to the other workstation that had been set up with vials and liquids. He was pleased to see at least several samples of blood, all in vials, neatly to one side. Taking the rest of the liquids on the table, he put them on a counter to the side, leaving only the stand with the vials of blood in them. Each of them was labeled with numbers and labels along with the last name of the patient. He easily picked out Romanoff, the agent named Ward, and even the good Captain's vials.

"Uh, are you going to use those?" Banner suddenly asked and Loki looked up to see him pointing to the unused beakers and bottles of liquids.

He shrugged and waved a hand to bring out what he had stored in the spaces-in-between, his inter-dimensional pocket. Since the Casket of Winters had been long gone, it had felt rather empty, thought not without some of his leftover modular projects and untested spells around it. At least it had left enough room, though 'room' was relative to the space-in-between, for him to carry what he needed back to Midgard after he had been dismissed from the Allfather's presence.

"I'm gonna use them, okay…whoa, what's that?" Banner had moved to collect the unused bottles on the counter before noticing what he was pulling out.

"Healing stones," Loki said as he dropped a medium sized bag of the stones he had helped himself to in the Healing Halls. Eir, the head of the Healing Halls had been none the wiser, though she had been clearly distracted by Erikur's presence as he explained about his upcoming trip to Helheim and what he needed to do there to survive the realm of the dead.

"That's…cool, it feels kind of tingly," Banner had picked one up and for a moment Loki wanted to stop him from crumbling it, releasing its magicks because he knew he would need it, but he saw that the scientist had not even moved to crush it. Instead, he was rotating it around, staring at its luminescent blue form. He touched his ear, "Hey Thor…yeah, good, you're on there. Good…um, Loki's brought healing stones-yeah, uh…I don't know lemme ask…"

Loki blinked as Banner looked at him and raised the stone up a bit, "Thor wants to know if you need the ones he has on him-wait, you guys carry them on you?" There was a slight distant look on Banner's face as he absently nodded and made noises of agreement before a smile curled the edges of his lips, "That's kind of cool. Instant medical field dressing and healing though I guess probably only for non-fatal wounds, right?"

"I have enough," Loki shrugged before Banner put the stone down and reached into his pocket and procured a small earpiece, unlike the one that he had worn once when Agent Coulson had given it to him before.

"Before I forget, here," Banner handed him the earpiece, "that way you can stay in touch if the team finds anything with the bodies there. You touch the button here to mute and this button here changes the frequencies. You can hear the frequency you're on after you touch it once. It'll say what frequency it's on before letting you talk."

He took the earpiece and looped it into his ear before immediately touching the small button that Banner had indicated as mute. At the same time he saw the doctor shake his head as if he had expected this and sighed, "Yeah, he muted it."

"That's ten you owe me and Barton, Cap. Pay up when we get back," Stark's voice was gleefully vindictive over his ear and Loki frowned before reaching up to take it out. If he was going to hear Stark crow about him through this whole thing then he would rather not hear anything at all-

"Tony…" he stopped himself from ripping the earpiece out as he heard Rogers' voice over the comm. The Captain had clearly breathed the poison in so why was he out on the quinjet? The mortal was clearly suicidal, but judging by what Loki knew about the soldier, he was also willing to sacrifice himself if need be, and he supposed that if Rogers thought himself well enough to move around, he was well enough to help his team out. Thor's beloved mortals were all foolish and foolhardy, just like the Warriors Three and Lady Sif – not even an ounce of self-preservation.

"What?" the man of iron sounded defensive and out of the corner of Loki's eye as he brought out more of what he had taken from his own rooms here, he saw Banner wincing, rubbing his eyes as if to get rid of a headache of sorts. He tuned out whatever else the man of iron was going to say as he sealed the spaces-in-between and set about arranging his workstation.

Healing was not his forte and Loki knew very well he could have asked Eir or even Erikur to help him, but he also knew that they would ask uninvited questions that he had no inclination of answering. Plus, he already knew that the magicks used, at least the one for this cure was to be tricky and Loki did not trust anyone else to do it. No one else had experience with Jormungandr and his poisons and those that did were either not there or were dead.

"I, uh…didn't know you had all of this stuff with you," Banner did not quite move forward to peer at the equipment he had placed on his workstation, but he also did not back away. Instead, he had a slightly bashful, yet hopeful look on his face as he stared at the things on the table. He clearly wanted to touch them, but at the same time seemed hesitant and Loki realized that Banner was being polite in not pawing at his things like Thor or any one else usually did if they entered his room. Thankfully it had been warded once more to prevent anyone, save Frigga or Odin from walking in, but during the time when he had all four Warriors watching him, it was a little unbearable.

Loki picked a small spindly object up and tossed it at Banner who caught it in surprise, eyes wide before he peered at it. "It is a weaver."

"What's a weaver? Wait, like a loom?" Banner took his glasses off, letting them hang on a string around his neck as he gently examined the object.

"The magicks of spells could be channeled through and funneled like thread, so to speak, allowing for minute transitions between magicks and caster. The weaver allows the spread of magicks to be stable from caster to spell," Loki explained, wondering if Banner truly understood what he was saying before the scientist absently nodded before gently placing it down on the tabletop.

"I think I got it, but not really…it's…well, pretty is not exactly the word I'd use, but it sounds useful if say you're going to extract magicks from a poison or something, right?"

"Dr. Banner, has my brother brought his silvalume, boye, caron forge, and gingher?" Thor's voice crackled across the comm. and Loki stiffened as he realized Thor had just named all but one of the objects he had on the table. When had his brother learned their names much less memorize them? He had only mentioned them once or twice in an effort to confuse Thor and get him out of his room during the times he had managed to breach the wards, but the fact that his _brother_ had memorized their names…it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"His wha…?" Barton's voice crackled faintly across the comm.

"English? Or at least something that resembles English?" Stark also sounded confused.

"Uh, you mean all of the things here? I guess…I'm not too sure and Loki's kind of ignoring me," he glanced up to see Banner looking a little sheepish as he spoke into the comm.

"There is a distant memory of him telling me the objects used to create a cure for the blood-poison that had ignited the fire in my veins," Thor explained and Loki pressed his lips together as he tried to block out the warmth and affection in his voice. Oh, so that was where had learned those names and he remembered ranting to him about it while he had been in his sick bed in the aftermath; about how hard it had been before listing what he had to use to create the cure.

"Blood-poison?" Rogers asked.

"Yes, the same that runs through you, Agent Romanoff, and the others," Thor said sounded hesitant, "it is the same that ran through me hundreds of years ago. It is why I had felt familiar magicks upon the inactive grenade Tony Stark here had picked up. I recognized the feel even though I am not magically inclined."

"What do you mean by that?" Banner asked, having shuffled back and forth depositing the unopened bottles and things that Loki had cleared out. "Oh, hey I was thinking that since you've got something like the…weaver, right? I can focus on a cure, but I'm willing to bet that there's probably a magical barrier or something right? It's not all just magic?"

"Yes," Loki said shortly as he continued to set up what he had brought with him. The calibrations needed some fine-tuning as they had rattled a little around during his trip from Asgard to Midgard.

"That's good, because my background is in the chemical component of physics as it relates to development of the human body is on a cellular level, so it works out pretty well. So since there has to be a base component there, then I'll work on the non-magic part of the cure and you, the magical one," Banner looked at him and Loki rolled his eyes. Had it not been obvious from the first point on? He knew he could devise a cure, but it would have been easier if Banner had taken care of the non-magick component of the cure for the poison while he dissected the more difficult part – getting rid of the magicks within the poison so a viable cure could be delivered. However, it was easier said than done.

"I'll take that as a yes," Banner seemed nonplussed as he gathered up the last of the bottles and beakers and placed them at his workstation before he began to organize what he had put on his table.

"A majority of Asgardians are not magically inclined," Thor had stayed silent through the whole thing and Loki wondered why he had not spoken up when he remembered that Banner was clearly still communicating with the team, and also he realized his brother had been thinking of how to explain about Jormungandr to them. Why he had not spoken to them earlier about it was beyond Loki, but he realized with a start that his brother actually thought to give him a chance to tell his own history with them…

And that thought somehow horrified him even more than anything else. What a base sentiment from Thor who thought to seemingly _protect_ him from the truth like this. What did-

"But there our sister race, the Vanir, have the magicks that enable them to cast their spells-"

"Like tech? Advance tech?"

"There is no distinction between magick and your technology," Thor sounded amused, "it is the same expression Jane Foster wore when I tried to explain it as best as I could, Tony Stark."

Loki had to snicker quietly to himself at Thor's point. He was wrong and there was a distinction, but it was more amusing to imagine the frustration on the man of iron's part.

"We…are a warrior race," Thor's voice had returned to its somber tone, "proud of the battles fought, of yore and of tales to be told at feasts. We decry anything that is…unnatural…"

"Magic," Rogers's voice was oddly flat.

"Magick," Thor agreed, "but we tolerate it. It is something that I have only begun to realize since my time amongst you, my friends, but it has made me think. We…are blind to certain aspects of magick happening around us, like the Bifrost, or even the weapons we use. Mjolnir is truly a weapon that calls forth lightning, yet I do not understand its true capabilities. I only understand what it is used for and how to use it, but I do not truly comprehend it."

Loki bit his lip again, trying hard to tune out what Thor was saying, as he moved on to the next object and started to calibrate it, pouring his concentration into making sure his equipment was all set to be used.

"What about the healing stones?"

"Yes, even those," Thor answered Banner's question and Loki noted out of the corner of his eye that Banner was absently studying his vials, but was far more interested in the conversation Thor was having with the others on the quinjet. "For instance, we have healers, yet we do not readily acknowledge them as magick-users even though they clearly command spells and such. General Tyr told me that it was my brother's idea to send forth healers instead of the contingent of battlemages we have on Asgard because they would be the first to cast familiars forth to warn of an impending attack by the Chitauri."

"Why?" Rogers asked.

"According to the General, it was because they would want to save everyone in the vicinity instead of fighting for war and glory like battlemages were more inclined to do due to their training," Thor explained before silence reigned on the comm. Loki dared not look up at Banner as he tried to gauge what the silence held. He did not want their pity nor whatever emotions they had for what Thor had just revealed.

"You mean their attitude," Stark's voice was still flat.

"It doesn't give him permission to fuck with my head or kill hundreds in New York," Barton's voice was cold and acerbic after that moment of silence and Loki laughed lightly. At least Barton knew the real truth to the matter and surprisingly had gotten the exact reaction that he wanted him to get. He was _not_ to be pitied.

"So they were marginalized or at least sort of ignored by your society," Rogers' voice was hard to discern over the comm., but Loki suspected he sounded a little angry, "What does this mean?"

"Jormungandr was considered the best healer in all nine realms," Thor started, but was cut off by both Stark and Rogers.

"Healer? I thought we were talking about poisons."

"Jormungandr? As in the Midgard Serpent?"

"Forgive me, I did not explain it as well as I should," Thor apologized, "it is not to my best knowledge, but from what I gather, a healer learned the arts of how our bodies react to the magicks and at the same time also learn the necessary poisons-"

"-to potentially hurt someone. Great," Stark finished shortly.

"We do not call them poisoners, but rather healers as many of them do not use the knowledge gained for foul purposes, Tony Stark," Thor sounded cross, "in fact Eir is considered the most respected healer in all nine realms right now and her abilities-"

"We're getting off topic here," Rogers interrupted Thor, "you said Jormungandr? The Midgard Serpent?"

"Yes," Thor said, "my brother would be better at explaining the intricacies that are lost on me regarding poisons and healing arts…but you have heard of Jormungandr?"

There had been a slight pause and Loki knew Thor was trying to allow him the chance to speak on the comm. and explain, but he had no inclination to do so and instead had moved on to his next equipment, calibrating it quickly before taking the weaver that Dr. Banner had placed back on his workstation and examining it with a close look and brush of gentle magicks. So far, Thor had not expressed any sentimentality or apologetic nonsense about not being able to understand him when they had growing up – that at least had spared Loki the chance of ripping out his earpiece and squashing it underneath his heel.

"There have been a few stories published here and there about Jormungandr. I mean, all they say is that he's a massive serpent that encircles the Earth, or rather Midgard in your case. He lives in the waters underneath, growing larger and larger since he was sent there by Odin," Rogers explained, sounding a little sheepish, "I…did a lot of reading about myths and heroes when I was growing up."

"My father did send Jormungandr to Midgard in the guise of a serpent," Thor confirmed, "although I do not know if he has grown as large to encircle the Earth as those stories have claimed. However, Heimdall was not able to pinpoint Jormungandr's location which leads me to believe that he has taken his human form once more. He could very well be the HYDRA leader we saw at Washington D.C."

"So why? Why a serpent and why this now?" Banner spoke up, nearly startling Loki as he had all but forgotten that the other scientist was working in the same lab as he. He had been quiet since he had said for them to focus on different aspects of making the cure.

"I do not know, but Jormungandr was supposedly punished by the Allfather when he was sent to Midgard as a serpent," Thor sounded frustrated, "I do not know how he broke through the enchantments-"

"Is it because he's Loki's son?" Rogers asked and Loki blinked, pausing in his work at Rogers' question. He saw Banner look up at him, pausing in his work, but did not meet the scientist's questioning look, and instead, focused his hearing to see what Thor was going to say.

"That is what the lore says?" Thor sounded bewildered and most likely received a confirmation from Rogers as his next words were thoughtful, "the lore is wrong, at least on Midgard. But it is an apt description of Jormungandr's relationship to my brother, at least from what I remember and observed."

"So they're not related?" Rogers asked.

"No," Thor replied, "but in hindsight, it is applicable to say that the members of my brother's coterie were like family, Jormungandr like his son."

"In hindsight? Geez," Banner muttered none too loudly and Loki thought it was over the comm, but realized Banner had not spoken those words to the others as he tapped his ear, shaking his head.

He wrinkled his brow as he stared at the doctor who was now doing something else with his vials, slowly drawing out blood from one of the vials and injecting it into different colors of liquids. Loki wondered if it was too much of a stretch to believe that the doctor understood what had really happened and pursed his lips a little before returning to finish the calibrations on his final piece of equipment.

"Loki had a coterie," Rogers stated.

"Yes," Thor replied, sounding a little bewildered.

"What's a coterie?" Stark asked.

"Hooboy…" Loki canted his head a little as Rogers let loose a breath that briefly filled the comm. with a static sound, "your brother had a coterie. Okay…um, well…it's kind of an obsolete terminology that's not really used anymore. The closest I think is probably…clique? Yeah, maybe a clique, but not the sense of teenagers these days."

"That is an image I didn't need Cap," Stark sounded annoyed.

"It's mainly a group of people who have close associations with each other. High society in England used it back in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, but even I don't think they realize what it means. It's mostly associated with secret societies and the like, but I'm guessing here Thor, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, but coteries usually had the power to change society around them, or at least influence and move society in a certain direction that they wanted. The sense I got from what I've read is that coteries are friends for life and their bonds never break. I've associated the word with a group of magic users since it's mostly used in fantasy books now – very powerful magic users in fact."

"That tries and change the world in those books?" Barton sounded a little thoughtful and Loki wondered if he too had read whatever had been in Rogers' books and lore.

"So Loki and his coterie tried to change the world? Or at least Asgard society?" Stark sounded confused.

"…I…it is..."

Loki closed his eyes for a brief moment and inwardly shook his head. Thor was trying to make this too complicated when the answer was plain and simple. He set the last piece down, finished with his calibrations and touched his ear, deactivating the mute button, "Yes. And we failed."

Touching the mute button again, he pulled the earpiece out and set it down on the table as he caught Banner staring at him, surprise evident on his face. Ignoring the look of open surprise, he instead, brought out the dagger that was encased in the protective modular barrier field and set it on the boye before reaching over and setting the silvalume in front of it.

A few seconds later Banner spoke up, still talking with the rest of the Avengers, "…Yeah, he's taken the earpiece off. Its okay Thor, I know you tried your best, but just tell us, Jormungandr's really here, right? I…I know, I also want to ask him, but do you really think your brother's behind all of this if he's so willing to help us? I mean, I don't know what's happened, but I do know that whatever's between him and Jormungandr…yeah, I know…thanks…thanks for telling us this…"

There was a moment of silence as Loki cast his scanning spell to try to peel the layers off of barrier without compromising it and let the silvalume record its analysis. Thor's words had dredged up memories he would have wanted to not remember, only dream in distant dreams. This whole fiasco with Jormungandr was making him feel more ill at ease than before, though not fearful as it had with Thanos. He heard Banner shuffling his feet before the scientist finally worked up the courage to speak.

"Thor was pretty quiet after what you said," Banner said hesitantly, "and I'm sure the others want to ask him about it, but they've arrived at D.C. I'm not going to pry, Loki, but I just wanted to thank you."

Loki all but ignored the doctor, not interested in platitudes or simpering pity that he supposed the mortals would all feel since Thor had tried to explain to them what Jormungandr was and what it meant to all of this. The only concern now was that Jormungandr had escaped and it was something that he needed to see to the end. That was what the coterie meant to him now – to see it to the end. He would prove to the Allfather that he had not betrayed the trust given to him in regards to Jormungandr's escape.

"Also, thank you for explaining to me what the weaver does," Loki looked up to see Banner rounding his workstation, pulling his earpiece out to show that he was not speaking into it and approached him with a serious look on his face.

"It is of no concern-"

"But it is, to me," Banner stopped a few feet away and picked up two more vials of liquids that Loki did not recognize, "and even if you did try to confuse me with the words, you didn't have to explain anything. You could have easily just left me wondering what it was."

Loki frowned, wondering what Banner was getting at. At the same time, he also was a little perplexed by the fact that the scientist had clearly read his intent, even if he had been trying to confuse him.

"I'll let you in on a trade secret," Banner grinned sheepishly at him, "the…Other Guy…he kind of gives me an extra heightened sense of smell so uh…it's kind of like a bullshit meter of sorts. Can smell out intentions and stuff…and also people if you really want to know about it."

Loki blinked once, a little impressed that the mindless, or not-so-mindless green monster inhabiting the body of the mild-mannered scientist could easily read people with that kind of power. He had not thought of the intent in smell to be viable, but here was proof that Banner said otherwise. It certainly explained why Banner was so perceptive at times.

"I, uh, or rather the Other Guy kind of smelled how you were going to move and when you were at your most distracted before, um, smashing you into Tony's penthouse during the battle of New York…"

Loki blinked before letting a rueful smirk appear on his face, even more impressed but curious as to why Banner was sharing this information so freely, "It seems I have under estimated you, Dr. Banner."

Banner grinned, "Eh, call it a trade. Kind of find out about one of probably millions of secrets, you find out about one of mine. Equal trade, right?"

"Or not so equal," Loki saw Banner laugh a little nervously before shaking his head and returning to his work station.

"We'll get him, Loki. Barring that, I know you'll get him," Banner said as he immersed himself back into his work. Loki stared at the doctor for a long moment before returning to his work.

That in of itself was the truth. Jormungandr would be his and his alone; no one else would bear the responsibility. After all, he, Loki Odinson broke his own coterie.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So yeah..._Thor: The Dark World_…LOKI LOVE! (heart) Lots and lots of love for him and Tom Hiddleston! It's also a little creepy that I managed to capture Loki's "voice" in my first story verily like the movie – of course, didn't quite capture the plot nor any other characters' voices, except maybe Thor to a certain extent, but hey – win.


End file.
